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GLIMPSES 


NATION'S  Struggle. 


A  SERIES  OF  PAPERS    READ    BEFORE    THE    MIN- 
NESOTA COMMANDERY  OF  THE  MILITARY 
ORDER    OF    THE    LOYAL    LEGION    OF 
THE  UNITED   STATES. 


ST.     PAUL,     MINN..: 

ST.  PAUL   BOOK   AND  STATIONEKY   COMPANY. 

1887. 


Copyright,  1887,  St.  Paul  Book  and  Stationery  Company. 


PREFACE. 


Those  who  were  in  the  cradle  when  the  republic 
was  struggling  to  preserve  its  life  are  now  voters  and 
active  workers  in  every  department  which  develops 
the  resources  of  the  nation.  That  which  seems  an  old 
story  to  the  soldiers  who  fought  for  the  preservation  of 
the  Union  to  them  is  fresh  and  full  of  interest.  Chil- 
dren naturally  desire  to  know  something  of  the  fields 
where  their  fathers  were  killed  or  wounded,  and  of  the 
causes  which  brought  on  so  terrible  a  conflict. 

The  papers  which  form  this  volume  were  read  at 
the  monthly  meetings  of  the  Minnesota  Commandery 
of  the  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion  of  the 
United  States.  They  are  not  elaborate  essays,  but 
glimpses  from  difierent  points  of  what  is  known  as 
the  Slaveholders'  Kebellion.  They  are  published  in 
the  hope  that  the  later  generations  who  read  them 
will  be  impressed  with  the  great  sacrifices  necessary 
to  prevent  the  division  of  the  grand  republic  into 
petty  and  jangling  States,  and  be  ready  to  teach  all 
under  their  influence  that  the  path  to  prosperity  is  to 
maintain  the  Union  forever. 


CONTENTS. 


rAOB 

"War  Memories.     By  Brigadier-General  E.  W.  Johnson, 

Brevet  Major-General  U.  S.  Army        ....        7 

Reminiscences  of  the  Last  Tear  of  President  Lin- 
coln's Life.     By  Chaplain  Edward  D.  Neill,  D.D.      .       29 

Some  Account  and  Recollections  op  the  Operations 
against  the  City  of  Mobile  and  its  Defences,  1864 
and  1865.  By  Major  Charles  J.  Allen,  Corps  of  En- 
gineers, United  States  Armj^         .....       54 

Reminiscences  op  General  U.  S.  Grant.  By  Brevet 
Brigadier-General  W.  R.  Marshall,  Colonel  Seventh 
Minnesota  Infantry,  IT.  S.  Volunteers ....       89 

Some  Experiences  op  an  Enlisted  Man.  By  Captain 
Henry  A.  Castle,  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-Seventh 
Illinois  Infantry,  U.  S.  Yolunteers        .         .         .         .107 

Personal  Observations  and  Experiences  in  the  Pope 
Campaign  in  Virginia.  By  Colonel  Daniel  Leasure, 
One  Hundredth  (-'Roundheads")  Pennsylvania  In- 
fantry. U.  S.  Volunteers 135 

The  Blessings  of  War.     By  Captain  Eugene  M.  Wilson, 

First  Minnesota  Mounted  Rangers,  U.  S.  Volunteers  .     167 

From  Chancellorsville  to  Libby  Prison.  By  Rev. 
Clay  MacCauley,  late  Lieutenant  One  Hundred  and 
Twenty-Sixth  Pennsylvania  Infantry.  U.  S.  Volun- 
teers       179 

From  Atlanta  to  Raleigh.   By  Colonel  Charles  D.  Kerr, 

Sixteenth  Illinois  Cavalry,  U.  S.  Volunteers        .         .     202 

Reminiscences  op  the  War  in  the  Department  op  the 
Missouri.  By  Brigadier-General  John  B.  Sanborn. 
Brevet  Major-General  U.  S.  Volunteers       .         .         .     224 


Q  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

How  THE  Day  was  Saved  at  the  Battle  op  Cedar  Creek. 
By  Brevet  Brigadier-General  A.  Bayard  Nettleton, 
Colonel  Second  Ohio  Cavalry,  U.  S.  Volunteers  .         .     258 

Keminiscences  of  an  Army  Surgeon.     By  Colonel  Daniel 

Hand,  Surgeon  U.  S.  Volunteers 276 

Eeoollections  op  the  Mine  Eun  Campaign.  By  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Edwin  C.  Mason,  Fourth  U.  S.  In- 
fantry, Brevet  Brigadier-General  U.  S.  Volunteers      .     308 

The  Surrender  of  the  Third  Eegiment  Minnesota  Vol- 
unteer Infantry.  By  Bi-igadier-General  C.  C.  An- 
drews, Brevet  Major-General  U.  S.  Volunteers    ,         .     337 

The  Illusions  op  a  Soldier.  By  Brevet  Brigadier-Gen- 
eral S.  P.  Jennison,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Tenth  Minne- 
sota Infantry,  U.  S.  Volunteers 369 

The  Old  Vermont  Brigade  at  Petersburg.  By  Briga- 
dier-General Lewis  A.  Grant,  Brevet  Major-General 
U.  S.  Volunteers 381 

Eemarks  op  Past  Commander  General  John  B.  San- 
born, TRANSFERRING  THE  CoMMANDERY  TO  COM- 
MANDER General  William  E.  Marshall,  at  the  An- 
nual Meeting  held  at  St.  Paul,  June  1,  1887         .    404 

Acceptance  op  Commander  General  William  E.  Mar- 
shall     415 


WAR  MEMORIES. 


BY   BEIGADIBE-GENEEAL   R.  W.  JOHNSON, 

BREVET   MAJOR-GENERAL   IT.  S.    ARMT. 


Iif  1861,  when  the  Southern  people  resolved  on  the 
secession  of  their  respective  States,  in  no  part  of  the 
South,  outside  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  was  the 
feeling  more  intense,  more  bitter,  than  in  the  State  of 
Texas.  And  yet  if  any  one  State  was  bound  to  the 
Federal  government  by  ties  stronger  than  another  it 
was  that  same  State.  Purchased  by  the  general  gov- 
ernment at  great  cost,  taken  into  the  family  of  States, 
leaving  to  her  all  the  public  lands  within  her  limits, 
there  were  many,  very  many  reasons  why  her  people 
should  have  remained  true  and  loyal.  But  the  tempest 
which  swept  over  the  South  carried  Texas  out  of  the 
Union,  and  this,  too,  in  opposition  to  the  earnest  protest 
of  Sam  Houston,  who  might  have  been  called,  with 
some  propriety,  the  father  of  the  State. 

At  the  time  of  which  we  write  he  was  governor  of 
Texas,  and  was  requested  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  Southern  Confederacy,  to  call  a  convention,  the 
object  of  which  was  simply  to  declare  the  Union  dis- 
solved, and  the  withdrawal  of  the  State.  This  Houston 
refused  to  do,  and  a  convention  assembled  at  Austin, 
declared  the  oflBce  of  governor  vacant,  and  proceeded 


g  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

to  fill  the  vacancy  by  the  election  of  the  lieutenant- 
governor. 

This  high-handed  measure  could  not  be  resisted. 
Houston  yielded,  and  retired  to  his  farm  on  the  Brazos, 
where  he  soon  died. 

Twiggs,  a  soldier  in  our  army  for  more  than  forty 
years,  abandoned  the  flag  of  his  country — that  country 
which  had  honorably  rewarded  his  every  service — and 
surrendered  the  Federal  troops  to  the  Confederate  au- 
thorities. His  apology  for  such  extraordinary  conduct 
was  "  that  he  would  avoid  the  possibility  of  a  collision 
between  the  Federal  and  the  State  troops." 

How  imbecile,  not  to  say  idiotic,  to  think  for  a  single 
moment  that  the  American  people  would  submit  to  the 
dismemberment  of  the  Union  without  striking  a  blow 
in  its  defence !  By  the  terms  of  the  surrender,  not  more 
than  a  regiment  was  to  be  concentrated  at  any  point. 

Indianola  was  designated  as  the  place  from  w^hich  the 
troops  were  to  sail  for  the  North,  and  Major  Fitz-John 
Porter  was  charged  with  procuring  transports  for  that 
2)urpose.  His  efficient  services  secured  the  safe  departure 
of  the  greater  portion  of  the  troops  in  the  Department  of 
Texas  before  the  terms  of  the  surrender  were  openly  vio- 
lated by  General  Earl  Van  Dorn,  with  the  full  sanction 
of  the  Confederate  authorities.  The  "  Empire  City," 
upon  which  the  writer  embarked,  had  on  board  parts 
of  the  Second  Cavalry  and  of  the  Third  Infantry.  We 
left  Indianola  a  little  before  sundown,  and  on  the  follow- 
ing morning  Van  Dorn  with  the  "  Star  of  the  West," 
an  improvised  gunboat,  arrived  in  Matagorda  Bay,  and 
arrested  and  paroled  all  of  the  officers  and  men  who 
■  had  not  previously  left  the  State. 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL   R.   W.  JOHNSON.  9 

On  our  voyage  north  the  officers  frequently  assem- 
bled in  the  cabin  or  on  deck,  and  the  future  was  freely 
discussed;  and  when  those  discussions  are  recalled,  it 
seems  strange  how  far  we  were  from  realizing  the  extent 
of  the  terrible  struggle  upon  which  Ave  were  about  to 
enter. 

The  general  opinion  prevailed  that  the  "  speck  of 
war"  would  soon  disappear,  and  that  before  we  could 
see  our  friends  in  "  the  States"  we  would  be  ordered 
back  to  the  Texas  frontier,  where  many  of  us  had 
served  for  many  years.  Our  vessel  sailed  by  Havana, 
and  when  in  front  of  Moro  Castle  the  stars  and  stripes 
were  raised  and  floated  beautifully  and  majestically  in 
the  breeze.  A  gun  from  Moro  signified  a  welcome, 
and  we  steamed  into  that  beautiful  harbor.  Here  we 
learned  of  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter,  and  it 
was  then  that  we  began  to  reaUze  the  awful  fact  that 
a  bloody  war  must  be  the  final  outcome.  On  our  ar- 
rival in  New  York  harbor  many  of  our  comrades  left 
us  to  join  the  troops  of  their  respective  States,  and 
when  I  recall  the  bitterness  of  their  sorrow  at  severing 
the  ties  which  had  bound  us  together,  I  realize  fully 
the  fact  that  they  were  not  the  promoters  of  the  war, 
had  no  desire  to  engage  in  it,  and  only  left  us  under 
the  mistaken  notion  that  their  allegiance  was  due  first 
to  the  States  which  gave  them  birth. 

Many  of  the  brave  officers  and  men  who  were  pas- 
sengers on  board  of  the  "  Empire  City"  lost  their  lives 
in  the  great  battles  of  the  Kebellion,  but  the  cause  for 
which  they  battled  was  successful,  and  we,  the  sur- 
vivors, enjoy  the  blessings  of  a  restored  Union.  On 
our  arrival  in  New  York  City  we  found  great  excite- 


XQ  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

ment  occasioned  by  the  bombardment  of  Sumter  and 
the  firing  upon  the  United  States  volunteers  in  the  streets 
of  Baltimore.  Southern  sympathizers  were  numerous  ; 
in  fact,  a  great  want  of  confidence  on  the  part  of  the 
loyal  people  existed  throughout  tlie  city.  That  each 
person  could  show  his  loyalty  by  raising  a  national  flag 
over  his  residence  or  place  of  business  was  suggested. 
At  first  only  a  few  flags  were  raised,  but  from  day  to 
day  the  number  increased  until  finally  from  every  house- 
top, steeple,  and  dome  the  stars  and  stripes  floated  to  the 
breeze.  By  this  demonstration  a  healthy  public  senti- 
ment was  established,  and  from  that  time  onward  New 
York  stood  firmly  for  the  Union.  Mr.  Davis  was  severely 
criticised  for  the  issuing  of  an  order  requiring  all  North- 
ern sympathizers  to  leave  the  South  *by  a  certain  fixed 
date.  Such  an  order  seemed  cruel,  but  then  it  was  de- 
manded by  the  harsh  rules  of  war.  Mr.  Lincoln  would 
have  acted  wisely  had  he  issued  a  similar  proclamation, 
and  thus  rid  the  North  of  all  those  whose  sympathies 
were  with  the  Southern  people. 

The  object  of  greatest  interest  early  in  1861  was  the 
safety  of  the  national  capital,  and  the  first  troops  raised 
were  sent  forward  to  that  point  as  rapidly  as  possible. 
When  the  capital  was  secure,  another  army  was  organ- 
ized for  service  against  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston, 
who,  in  command  of  a  large  force,  had  marched  u])  to 
and  taken  possession  of  Harper's  Ferry. 

This  command  was  concentrated  at  Chambersburg, 
and  Mnjor-General  Robert  Patterson  was  assigned  to 
its  command.  The  operations  of  this  army  have  been 
persistently  misrepresented  from  its  organization  down 
to  the  present  time.     Even  the  loyalty,  patriotism,  and 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  R.   W.  JOHNSON.  \\ 

ability  of  its  gallant  commander  have  been  called  into 
question. 

While  at  Chambersburg,  General  Patterson  urged 
upon  the  general-in-chief  to  allow  him  to  cross  into 
Virginia  at  or  near  Leesburg,  but  his  proposition  was 
overruled,  and  he  was  ordered  to  march  his  command 
to  Williamsport  and  enter  Virginia  at  that  point.  I 
shall  always  believe  that  Patterson's  proposition  should 
have  been  followed  out.  In  carrying  out  the  plan  of 
the  general-in-chief,  McDowell  and  Patterson  were 
j^laced  on  exterior  lines,  while  Beauregard  and  Johns- 
ton occupied  interior  lines,  and  were  thus  enabled  to 
form  a  junction  with  each  other,  attack  and  defeat 
McDowell,  and  with  equal  ease  they  might  have  turned 
against  Patterson,  and  "  sent  him  whirling"  out  of  the 
Shenandoah  Valley,  thus  defeating  every  organized 
force  and  leaving  Washington  a  matter  of  easy  cap- 
ture. The  crossing  of  Patterson's  army  at  either  place 
would  have  threatened  Johnston's  communications,  and 
his  evacuation  of  Harper's  Ferry  and  occupation  of 
Winchester  would  have  surely  followed  in  either 
event. 

Had  Patterson,  however,  been  at  Leesburg  he  would 
have  been  within  supporting  distance  of  McDowell,  and 
could  have  joined  him  sooner  than  Johnston  could  have 
effected  a  junction  with  Beauregard. 

Had  Patterson's  plan  been  adopted,  does  any  one 
doubt  that  instead  of  being  defeated  at  Bull  Run,  the 
Union  troops  would  have  secured  a  grand  and  glorious 
victory  ? 

Soon  after  crossing  into  Virginia  the  advance  arrived 
at  Falling  Waters,  where  Stonewall  Jackson,  then  not 


12  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

SO  distinguished,  was  encountered  and  defeated.  Our 
column  pushed  on  to  Martinsburg.  Here  an  order  was 
received  from  General  Scott,  directing  General  Patter- 
son to  press  General  Johnston  so  closely  as  to  prevent 
him  from  reinforcing  Beauregard,  and  announcing  the 
fact  that  McDowell  was  to  move  against  the  enemy  in 
his  front  on  the  following  Tuesday.  Patterson  was 
instructed  to  occupy  Johnston  until  after  that  day,  when 
he  was  authorized  to  transfer  his  troops  and  headquarters 
to  Charlestown.  A  forward  movement  was  ordered,  and 
he  marched  to  Bunker  Hill.  For  several  days  recon- 
noissances  were  made  in  the  direction  of  Winchester. 
On  the  Thursday  following  the  Tuesday  upon  which  the 
battle  of  Bull  Bun  was  to  have  been  fought,  the  writer 
was  sent  forward  in  command  of  a  body  of  infantry 
and  cavalry  to  ascertain  if  Johnston  was  still  at  Win- 
chester. Finding  him  there  in  force,  on  the  following 
morning  Patterson  moved  his  army  to  Charlestown,  and 
Johnston  fell  back,  and  joined  Beauregard  on  Sunday 
evening  in  time  to  participate  in  the  closing  battle  of 
that  day.  The  Federal  army  was  put  to  flight,  the 
country  disappointed,  and  the  heart  of  the  enemy  filled 
with  joy  unspeakable  at  his  apparent  success.  It  is  an 
astounding  fact  that,  notwithstanding  Patterson's  army 
was  within  telegraphic  communication  with  Washing- 
ton, nothing  was  heard  of  the  delay  to  offer  battle  on 
Tuesday,  nor  of  the  result  of  the  battle  on  Sunday,  until 
the  arrival  of  the  Philadelphia  newspapers  in  our  camp 
on  Monday  morning. 

Patterson's  army  was  composed  almost  entirely  of 
three-months'  men,  whose  terms  of  service  expired  about 
the  last  of  July,  and  when  they  were  "  mustered  out" 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  R.   W.  JOHNSON.  13 

General  Patterson  was  honorably  discharged,  and  re- 
turned to  his  home  in  Philadelphia. 

The  battle  of  Bull  Pun,  terminating  as  it  did,  in- 
spired the  Southern  people  with  hope  and  courage. 
In  all  parts  of  the  South  the  wildest  enthusiasm  was 
manifested.  Young  and  old  flocked  to  the  cities  to  en- 
list under  the  Confederate  banner  and  prepare  for  war. 
About  this  time  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky  called  for 
General  Anderson,  the  hero  of  Fort  Sumter,  to  take 
charge  of  the  Union  troops  in  that  State.  President 
Lincoln  acceded  to  the  request,  and  ordered  Anderson 
to  the  command  of  that  department,  designating  General 
W.  T.  Sherman  as  his  associate.  Anderson's  health 
failed  him  in  a  short  time,  and  he  was  succeeded  by 
General  W.  T.  Sherman,  who  was  not  long  in  infusing 
his  own  energy  and  spirit  into  the  troops  under  his 
command.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  very  anxious  to  let  the 
people  of  this,  his  native  State,  understand  that  it  was 
not  his  intention  to  interfere  with  slavery,  and  to  con- 
vince them  of  that  fact  he  sent  none  but  Southern  and 
Western  officers  to  report  to  Sherman ;  accordingly, 
we  find,  in  the  first  year  of  the  war,  the  following  Vir- 
ginians and  Kentuckians  holding  positions  in  the  Fed- 
eral army  in  that  State, — viz.,  George  H.  Thomas,  L. 
H.  Rousseau,  J.  T.  Boyle,  T.  J.  Wood,  W.  T.  Ward, 
William  Nelson,  R.  W.  Johnson,  and  possibly  others. 
This  was  a  stroke  of  good  policy,  as  it  served  to  show 
that  the  war  was  not  waged  against  slavery,  but  for 
the  preservation  of  the  Union.  About  the  close  of  the 
year  1861  Sherman  was  relieved  from  that  command, 
and  General  D.  C.  Buell  was  designated  as  his  successor. 
Buell  was  a  great  organizer  and  disciplinarian.     His 


14  GLIMPSE f?   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

strictness  with  the  volunteers  turned  them  against  him, 
and  he  was  withdrawn,  thus  estabhshing  the  fact  in  his 
case  that  "  the  pen  is  mightier  than  the  sword." 

Buell's  march  to  Nashville,  and  thence  to  the  as- 
sistance of  Grant  at  Shiloh,  was  a  masterly  perform- 
ance, and  stamped  him  as  a  soldier  of  the  highest, 
broadest  type.  It  is  unnecessary  to  conjecture  as  to 
the  result  had  he  failed  to  put  in  his  appearance  at 
Sliiloh  at  the  time  he  did. 

Among  the  officers  who  joined  Sherman  in  Ken- 
tucky was  one  heretofore  mentioned,  General  William 
Nelson.  He  was  educated  at  Annapolis,  from  which 
he  entered  the  navy,  and  long  served  in  that  arm  of 
the  public  service,  being  regarded  as  one  of  the  very 
best  officers  of  his  grade.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
war  he  was  appointed  brigadier-general  of  volunteers, 
and  was  assigned  to  duty  in  his  native  State.  To  one 
not  well  acquainted  with  him  his  manner  appeared 
brusque,  not  to  say  rude,  but  within  that  rough  exte- 
rior which  he  affected  was  a  heart  as  warm  and  gen- 
erous as  ever  pulsated  in  the  bosom  of  man.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  he  lost  his  life  in  a  personal  diffi- 
culty with  General  Jefferson  C.  Davis,  on  the  29th 
day  of  September,  1862.  Nelson  was  a  man  of  energy 
and  nerve,  whose  loss  was  a  severe  blow  to  our  army, 
as  true  and  tried  men  were  scarce  in  the  bleak,  dark 
days  of  the  early  war.  Had  he  lived  until  peace  was 
restored  he  would  have  stood  high  among  the  nation's 
great  defenders. 

Immediately  after  assuming  command  of  the  depart- 
ment, General  Sherman  began  the  concentration  of 
troops  on  Nolin  Creek,  on  tlie  line  of  the  Louisville 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL   R.   W.  JOHNSON.  15 

and  Nashville  Railroad.  The  camp  was  known  as 
Camp  Neveu,  and  was  commanded  by  General  A. 
McD.  McCook.  It  became  a  grand  school  of  instruc- 
tion, in  which  the  officers  and  men  were  instructed  in 
their  duties.  Camp  Neven  will  long  be  remembered 
by  the  troops  stationed  there.  Here  they  learned  for 
the  first  time  something  of  the  hardships  of  a  soldier's 
life.  Change  of  diet,  wet,  cold,  and  disagreeable 
weather  produced  disease,  and  at  one  time  the  camp 
was  little  more  than  one  vast  field-hospital.  On  De- 
cember 9,  McCook  ordered  the  brigade  of  General  R. 
W.  Johnson  to  move  forward  to  Mumfordsville,  on 
Green  River,  and  on  the  17th  the  entire  command 
moved  up,  and  here  for  long,  weary  weeks  the  troops 
remained  in  a  sea  of  mud,  which  for  military  purposes 
was  called  Camp  Wood. 

On  the  19th  of  January  our  drooping  spirits  were 
greatly  elated  over  the  victory  of  General  George  H. 
Thomas  at  Mill  Springs,  where  the  Confederate  com- 
mander. General  Zoilicoffer,  was  killed.  His  remains 
were  forwarded  under  a  flag  of  truce  to  Nashville. 

Soon  after  this  the  army  was  put  in  motion  in  the 
direction  of  Nashville,  and  General  Grant  notified  the 
commander  at  Fort  Donelson  that  he  proposed  "  to 
move  against  his  works  without  delay."  He  carried 
his  threat  into  execution,  and  captured  the  entire  gar- 
rison except  Generals  Pillow  and  Floyd  and  their 
staffs.  When  it  became  evident  that  Grant  would 
compel  a  surrender.  Pillow,  who  had  no  taste  for 
prison  life  within  the  walls  of  a  "  Northern  bastile," 
turned  the  command  over  to  Floyd,  and  he,  for  a  simi- 
lar reason,  relinquished  in  favor  of  General  Buckner, 


IQ  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

who  was  too  honorable  to  run  away  and  abandon  the 
command  to  its  fate,  but  like  a  true  soldier  remained  to 
share  its  fortunes.  Pillow  and  Floyd  escaped  by  boat 
to  Nashville,  where  they  arrived  on  the  Sabbath  morn- 
ing while  the  good  people  were  in  attendance  upon 
divine  service.  Congregations  were  dismissed  without 
the  usual  benediction,  and  all  who  could  get  away  left 
before  the  arrival  of  the  dreaded  Yankee. 

Floyd  remained  in  Nashville  long  enough  to  cut  the 
wires  of  the  suspension  bridge,  and  precipitate  that  grand 
structure  in  a  shapeless  mass  to  the  bottom  of  the  river. 
The  rear  of  the  column  of  fugitives  was  scarcely  out  of 
the  city  when  Buell,  with  his  magnificent  army,  arrived 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Cumberland  Eiver.     Boats 
were  procured,  and  the  work  of  crossing  began  at  once. 
By  nine  o'clock  at  night  the  troops  were  all  over,  and 
Nashville  was  in  the  possession  of  the  Union  army. 
The  Federal  army  found  a  very  bitter  feeling  prevailing 
in  Nashville  against  the  Yankees.     From  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war,  orators,  poets,  the  press,  and  the  pulpit 
had  united  in  instilling  into  the  hearts  of  the  masses 
the  most  deadly  hatred  against  the  Federal  government. 
The  soldiers  were  characterized  as  hirelings  and  scoun- 
drels, worse  than  the  old  Norsemen,  who  had  been  the 
terror  and  the  shame  of  the  world.     The  people  had 
been  told  that  when  the  Sunny  South  was  disgraced  and 
humiliated  by  the  tread  of  mercenary  soldiers,  barbari- 
ties, atrocities,  and  outrages  worse  than  those  ever  per- 
petrated in  the  deepest,  darkest  night  of   heathenism 
would  be  heaped  upon  them  by  the  Northern  horde. 
Buell  tried  conciliation,  and  we  soon  found  that  his 
course  had  a  happy  effect  upon  those  who  had  pre- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  R.   W.  JOHNSON.  17 

viously  been  so  bitterly  opposed  to  the  general  govern- 
ment. 

Buell's  army  did  not  long  remain  in  Nash'Tille.  A 
messenger  arrived  from  General  Grant,  urging  him  to 
move  with  all  possible  despatch  to  Pittsburg  Landing. 
Extra  baggage  was  stored,  and  his  transportation  re- 
duced to  the  very  lowest  limits,  and  by  a  forced  march 
he  reached  his  destination  in  time  to  be  of  great  service 
to  the  army  under  General  Grant. 

After  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  Halleck  reorganized  his 
command,  assigning  General  Grant  to  the  jDOsition  of 
"  second  in  command,"  and  as  soon  as  his  preparations 
were  made  a  forward  movement  began.  The  roads  were 
in  a  wretched  condition,  and  to  make  them  passable  for 
our  artillery  and  baggage- wagons,  miles  and  miles  of 
"corduroy"  had  to  be  laid.  In  this  way  the  army 
arrived  within  artillery  range  of  Corinth.  Halleck 
had  about  four  hundred  pieces  of  artillery,  all  pointed 
at  that  fated  city.  Why  he  did  not  let  loose  those  dogs 
of  war  the  writer  never  understood.  Beauregard  and 
his  entire  army  were  completely  at  the  mercy  of  the 
Federals,  and  all  that  was  necessary  to  secure  their 
capture  was  to  open  upon  their  works  and  give  the 
command  "forward." 

But  Beauregard  with  his  Quaker-guns  deceived  the 
Federal  commander  and  made  good  his  escape.  We 
captured  Corinth  and  the  country  breathed  more  freely. 
Here  the  army  was  divided,  a  portion  under  Buell 
marching  to  Huntsville,  and  thence  along  the  railroad 
from  that  point  to  Bridgej^ort  on  the  Tennessee  liiver. 
This  movement  threatened  the  very  vitals  of  the  Con- 
federacy, and  it  was  necessary  to  compel  Buell  to  fall 


X8  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

back.  General  Bragg,  the  Confederate  commander,  not 
feeling  strong  enough  to  make  a  direct  attack,  resolved 
to  accomplish  by  strategy  that  which  he  was  unable  to 
do  by  force  of  arms.  For  this  reason  the  invasion  of 
Kentucky  was  planned. 

Bragg  crossed  the  Tennessee  at  or  near  Chattanooga, 
ascended  the  Cumberland  Mountains,  thence  down  in 
the  Sequatchy  Valley,  from  which  position  he  could 
strike  for  Nashville,  or  Louisville,  as  circumstances 
might  seem  to  direct.  This  movement  Buell  saw  at  once 
threatened  his  entire  line  of  communication.  It  was 
evidently  Bragg's  intention  to  move  on  Nashville,  but 
by  the  rapid  movement  of  Buell  he  kept  his  army  at 
all  times  between  Bragg  and  his  objective-point. 

So  soon  as  the  Confederate  commander  saw  that  he 
could  not  reach  Nashville  without  a  battle,  he  deflected 
his  course  and  marched  upon  Louisville.     This  move- 
ment was  promptly  met,  and  for  some  days  the  question 
seemed  to  be  which  army  would  reach  the  Ohio  first. 
Finally  the  tired  and  dusty  veterans  composing  Buell's 
army  reached  Louisville  and  took  possession  of  the  city. 
Bragg  had  been  fairly  beaten  in  the  race,  and  taking 
position  near  Perryville  awaited  further  action  on  Buell's 
part.     He  did  not  have  long  to  wait,  for  in  a  few  days 
the  troops  moved  to  meet  him.     This  meeting  took  place 
in  the  vicinity  of  Perryville,  and  resulted  in  one  of  the 
fiercest  battles  of  the  war.     For  some  unaccountable 
reason  all  the  troops  were  not  engaged  at  any  one  time. 
For  this  partial   failure  Buell  was  censured,  yet  the 
writer  is  of  the  opinion  that,  under  all  the  circum- 
stances, no  one  could  have  managed  the  details  of  the 
battle  better  than  they  were  managed.     However,  the 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  R.   W.  JOHNSON.  19 

government  became  dissatisfied  with  Buell,  and  he  was 
superseded  by  General  W.  S.  Rosecrans,  whose  brilliant 
ex])loits  in  Mississippi  had  brought  him  prominently 
forward  as  a  great  leader.  When  Kosecrans  took  com- 
mand Bragg's  army  was  in  full  retreat,  and  did  not  stop 
until  it  had  reached  Murfreesboro',  Tennessee.  Here  he 
fortified  himself  and  threw  out  several  outposts.  Rose- 
crans  pushed  his  army  forward  to  Nashville,  which  he 
occupied  as  his  headquarters,  posting  his  troops  in  a 
continuous  line  around  the  city,  from  the  river  above  to 
the  river  below. 

A  court  of  inquiry  was  ordered  on  Buell,  and  it  sat 
in  Nashville  for  many  months.  Finally  the  record  was 
forwarded  to  Washington,  where  it  was  "pigeon-holed," 
and  never  published.  In  fact,  it  is  said  that  the  origi- 
nal proceedings  were  mysteriously  withdrawn  from  the 
files,  and  had  it  not  been  that  the  short-hand  reporter 
kept  his  notes  nothing  would  have  ever  been  definitely 
known  in  regard  to  the  action  of  the  court.  A  dupli- 
cate copy  was  obtained  and  published  by  order  of  Con- 
gress, from  which  it  appears  that  Buell  was  entirely 
exonerated.  Chafing  under  the  great  injustice  which 
he  felt  had  been  done  him,  he  tendered  his  resignation, 
and  bade  farewell  to  his  noble  army.  Here  he  made,  in 
my  opinion,  a  serious  mistake.  He  should  have  sub- 
mitted, like  Sherman  when  relieved  in  Kentucky,  and 
Grant  when  he  was  placed  as  second  in  command  after 
the  battle  of  Shiloh,  trusting  to  the  future  for  complete 
vindication. 

Bosecrans  occupied  Nashville  on  the  7th  of  November. 
From  this  date  to  December  26  he  was  untiring  in  his 
labors  to  prepare  for  a  forward  movement.     When  all 


20  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

things  were  ready  the  movement  began  by  the  different 
roads  leading  to  Murfreesboro'.  On  December  30  we 
skirmished  with  the  enemy  all  day,  and  by  nightfall  had 
forced  him  to  develop  his  entire  position  from  right  to 
left.  Both  armies  slept  on  their  arms,  in  two  parallel 
lines,  with  McCook  on  the  right,  Crittenden  on  the  left, 
and  Thomas  in  reserve.  Early  in  the  evening  Rose- 
crans  issued  an  order  in  which  it  was  stated  that  on  the 
following  day  a  great  battle  was  to  be  fought :  "  If  our 
right  was  attacked  it  was  to  fall  back,  disputing  every 
inch  of  ground,  and  simultaneously  the  left  was  to 
move  forward,  cross  Stone  River,  and  take  possession 
of  and  occupy  the  enemy's  works.  If  the  enemy  failed 
to  attack,  our  army  was  to  assume  the  offensive  on  the 
right,  while  our  left  was  to  accompUsh  the  crossing  of 
the  river  and  the  capture  of  Murfreesboro'."  As  before 
stated,  the  left  was  under  the  immediate  command  of 
General  T.  L.  Crittenden,  a  brave  and  accomplished 
officer,  to  whose  energy  and  resolute  courage  the  coun- 
try at  large  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude.  McCook's  com- 
mand, composed  of  the  divisions  of  Johnson,  Davis, 
and  vSheridan,  was  disposed  as  follows:  Davis  on  the 
right,  Sheridan  on  the  left,  and  Johnson  in  reserve. 
Early  on  the  evening  of  the  30th  Davis  became  appre- 
hensive in  regard  to  the  safety  of  his  right  flank,  and 
called  for  a  brigade  from  the  division  in  reserve  to  form 
on  his  right,  refusing  its  right.  Soon  the  commander 
of  this  brigade  wanted  troops  on  his  right,  and  another 
brigade  was  taken  from  the  reserve  and  posted  on  the 
right  of  the  other,  refusing  its  right  flank.  Pickets 
were  thrown  forward  in  charge  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Fielding  Jones,  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Indiana  Volun- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  R.   W.  JOHNSON.  21 

teers.  During  the  night  the  troops  were  not  permitted 
to  make  fires,  but  to  create  the  impression  that  we  were 
massing  on  the  enemy's  left  Kosecrans  had  a  great 
many  fires  made  away  off  to  our  right.  Bragg,  evi- 
dently suspecting  that  where  we  j^rofessed  to  be  strong 
we  were  really  weak,  massed  his  forces  on  our  right, 
leaving  Breckenridge's  division  to  hold  his  works  in 
our  immediate  front.  Colonel  Jones  on  being  satisfied 
of  the  movement  of  the  greater  part  of  the  Confederate 
army  to  our  right,  reported  the  facts  to  General  John- 
son, who  sent  a  staff  ofiicer  to  General  McCook's  head- 
quarters with  the  same  report.  McCook,  who  was 
always  prompt  to  act  when  duty  required  it,  either  went 
or  sent  a  staff  officer  to  report  the  facts  to  Rosecrans. 

A  few  moments  before  six  o'clock,  on  the  morning 
of  the  31st,  the  attack  was  made  against  Johnson's  two 
brigades.  Wliat  could  they  do  against  such  heavy 
odds?  Bravely  did  these  men  fight,  but  by  force  of 
numbers  they  were  compelled  to  fall  back,  exposed  to  a 
deadly  fire.  The  battle  on  our  right  being  so  fierce, 
Kosecrans  thought  it  unwise  to  carry  out  his  previous 
orders,  and  hence  our  left  was  not  ordered  to  cross 
Stone  Biver.  The  broken  right  fell  back,  exposing 
Davis's  division  to  a  heavy  fire,  which  gradually  ex- 
tended to  Sheridan's  division,  where  the  contest  was 
indeed  fierce  and  bloody.  The  broken  right  fell  back, 
and  re-formed  near  the  Nashville  pike,  and  did  good 
service  in  repelling  an  attack  later  in  the  day.  At  this 
stage  of  the  battle  Bragg  reinforced  his  right,  intending 
to  attack  Crittenden  on  our  left.  From  an  eminence 
Crittenden  observed  the  movement,  and  seeing  a  good 
opportunity  to  use  artillery,  turned  to  his  chief.  Colonel 


22  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

Mendenliall,  and  said,  "By  heavens,  here  is  the  place 
for  your  artillery."  Quick  as  thought  Mendenhall  was 
off,  and  within  a  few  moments  he  had  his  brazen - 
throated  dogs  of  war  belching  forth  fire,  shot,  and  shell 
upon  Bragg's  advancing  columns.  This  was  one  of 
the  most  terrific  artillery  fires  of  the  war,  conceived 
by  Crittenden  and  executed  by  Mendenhall,  both  as 
modest  as  they  are  brave,  and  each  too  modest  to  ever 
claim  the  credit  which  is  his  due. 

On  the  4th  day  of  January  Bragg  evacuated  Mur- 
freesboro',  and  the  main  army  took  possession  of  the 
town.  It  was  in  this  battle  that  the  Army  of  the  Cum- 
berland first  baptized  its  name  in  blood.  Who  that  was 
there  during  that  struggle  shall  ever  forget  it?  We 
fought  a  skilful  and  determined  enemy  upon  the  field 
of  his  own  clioice,  and,  after  a  desperate  struggle, 
defeated  him  while  he  was  yet  flushed  with  the  excite- 
ment of  his  supposed  success,  and  wrenched  the  gar- 
lands of  victory,  as  it  appeared,  almost  from  the  very 
hands  of  fate  itself  Who  shall  ever  tell  the  secrets  of 
those  cedar  fastnesses,  or  unveil  the  tender  threads  upon 
which  the  fortunes  of  that  desperate  field  revolved  ? 

Merging  from  those  cedars,  I  saw  a  piece  of  artillery 
drawn  by  hand.  The  horses  had  been  lost,  and  Colonel 
W.  W.  Berry,  Captain  Huston,  and  a  few  others  of  the 
Louisville  Legion,  unwilling  that  it  should  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  fought  their  way  through  the  dense 
forest  and  brought  it  with  them. 

As  soon  as  Rosecrans  occupied  Murfreesboro'  he  went 
to  work  to  fortify  the  place.  General  Morton,  his  chief 
engineer,  an  officer  of  ability  in  his  profession,  was 
charged   with   this   duty,  and   he   performed   it  well. 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  R.   W.  JOHNSON.  23 

Wlien  the  works  were  completed,  the  command  under 
General  Rosecrans  could  have  held  them  against  the 
attack  of  all  the  Confederate  armies  combined.  The 
work  was  done  by  the  volunteers,  many  of  whom  had 
never  used  a  spade  before,  but  before  the  close  of  the 
war  they  learned  that  the  pick  and  spade  were  as  neces- 
sary to  successful  warfare  as  the  sword  and  the  musket. 
While  the  troops  were  strengthening  our  defences  at 
Murfreesboro',  Rosecrans  was  busily  occupied  in  ascer- 
taining the  location  of  Bragg's  forces.  Through  his 
efficient  spies  he  learned  that  Polk's  corps  was  at  Shel- 
by ville.  Hardee  joined  him  on  the  right,  and  occupied 
Belle  Buckle,  Liberty  Gap,  and  Hoover's  Gap,  and  the 
effective  force  combined  numbered  about  forty  thousand. 
His  base  of  supplies  was  at  Chattanooga,  with  a  tempo- 
rary base  at  Tallahoma,  in  the  rear  of  the  centre  of  the 
Confederate  line.  Bosecrans's  second  cam^jaign  was  to 
drive  the  Confederates  out  of  the  State  of  Tennessee. 
The  plan  of  the  campaign  was  to  threaten  the  enemy's 
left  and  centre  with  a  large  force  of  infantry  and  cav- 
alry, and  under  cover  of  these  demonstrations  to  turn 
their  right  and  force  a  battle  on  our  own  ground,  or 
compel  a  retreat  over  the  mountains  by  a  circuitous 
and  dangerous  route. 

On  the  24th  day  of  June  our  movement  began. 
McCook's  corps  was  to  march  by  Old  Millersburg,  and 
drive  the  enemy  from  Liberty  Gap ;  this  is  a  narrow 
passage  between  two  high  ranges  of  mountains,  which, 
if  resolutely  defended  by  a  thousand  men,  could  be  held 
against  ten  times  the  number.  Our  troops  moved  gal- 
lantly forward,  and  drove  the  enemy  through  and  beyond 
the  Gap,  and  encamped  therein  during  the  night.     On 


24  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STEUGGLE. 

the  following  morning  the  enemy  was  reinforced  by 
Cleburne's  division,  and  again  offered  battle,  which  was 
accepted.  The  fighting  the  day  before  was  by  John- 
son's division  of  McCook's  corps,  but  on  the  second  day 
part  of  Davis's  division  was  sent  to  support  Johnson's. 
For  a  short  time  the  battle  raged  furiously,  but  finally 
the  enemy  was  repulsed.  On  the  first  day  General  John 
F.  Miller  was  shot  in  the  eye  while  gallantly  leading  his 
brigade.  His  commander  visited  him  after  dark,  and 
never  expected  to  see  him  again  alive,  but  was  pleased 
to  renew  his  acquaintance  recently  in  Washington. 
Miller  is  now  a  senator  from  California,  and  one  of  the 
wealthy  men  of  the  Pacific  slope. 

During  the  conflict  at  Liberty  Gap,  Thomas  was 
pushing  the  enemy  at  Hoover's  Gap.  Their  defeat  at 
the  former  place  caused  a  general  retreat  of  the  Con- 
federate army  to  Tallahoma.  For  miles  around  this 
place  the  country  is  level.  The  forests  approached  the 
village  on  all  sides.  Bragg  had  the  trees  felled  for  a 
distance  of  two  miles  in  all  directions,  in  order  to  give 
his  artillery  an  opportunity  to  do  effective  work  upon 
our  advancing  columns,  but  before  we  got  within  range 
of  his  guns  he  and  his  army  fell  back.  Chattanooga 
was  the  next  place  occupied  by  Bragg,  but  when  we 
began  to  draw  our  lines  around  that  place  it  was  aban- 
doned also.  General  Rosecrans  then  ordered  his  army 
to  cross  the  Tennessee  River  at  four  or  five  different 
points,  and  the  various  columns  moved  so  as  to  increase 
the  distance  between  them.  On  the  16th  of  September 
the  right  and  left  were  fully  fifty  miles  apart.  Bragg, 
who  had  been  reinforced  by  Longstreet  and  had  his 
army  well  in  hand,  could  not  liave  known  the  position 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  R.   W.  JOHNSON.  25 

of  Rosecrans's  forces,  otlierwise  he  would  have  attacked 
him  before  he  coukl  have  concentrated.  Rosecrans,  learn- 
ing the  position  of  the  enemy,  ordered  his  army  to  close 
to  the  left  and  prepare  for  battle.  McCook,  who  was 
in  command  of  the  extreme  right,  and  always  ready  to 
take  a  hand  in  battle,  was  not  slow  in  moving  his  column, 
but  long  before  he  could  close  in  on  our  left  the  roar  of 
artillery  and  musketry  told  too  plainly  that  Thomas  had 
been  attacked.  The  firing  was  so  heavy  that  the  men, 
forgetting  fatigue,  hastened  to  the  conflict.  Johnson's 
division  of  McCook's  corps  was  in  advance,  and  at  Craw- 
fish Springs  Rosecrans  ordered  him  to  move  his  division 
at  "  double-quick"  to  Thomas,  and  report  to  him  in  per- 
son. The  other  two  divisions  of  McCook's  corps  were 
attacked  in  flank  before  they  could  be  brought  in  line, 
and  some  confusion  prevailed  until  the  division  com- 
manders succeeded  in  rallying  them,  which  was  soon 
done.  At  sundown  on  the  19th  the  Confederate  lines 
had  been  forced  back  at  least  a  mile  and  a  half. 

Colonel  J.  B.  Dodge,  who  commanded  one  of  the 
brigades  in  Johnson's  division,  got  in  advance  of  his 
command  and  between  the  two  lines.  To  move  either 
way  would  surely  draw  the  fire  of  some  sharpshooter. 
Not  knowing  what  to  do  he  sat  down  at  the  root  of  a 
tree,  to  calmly  consider  the  uncertainty  of  life  and  pos- 
sibly to  pass  in  review  his  shortcomings  from  boyhood. 
In  this  position  he  was  in  full  view  of  a  Confederate 
battery.  Three  of  the  gunners  observing  him,  and  sup- 
posing that  he  was  badly  wounded,  came  to  his  assist- 
ance. The  artillerymen  had  no  arms,  and,  as  their 
mission  was  one  of  mercy,  did  not  think  they  would 
need   any.     As    they  raised    Dodge   up  one  of  them 


26  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

remarked,  "  Let  us  see  if  the  Yank  has  any  arms." 
Quick  as  thought  Dodge  observed  that  they  were  un- 
armed, and  drawing  his  pistol  presented  it  and  de- 
manded their  surrender.  Seeing  their  helplessness 
they  surrendered,  and  Dodge  marched  his  caj^tives  into 
the  Federal  camp.  The  writer  does  not  know  what 
became  of  the  prisoners,  but  has  always  hoped  that 
they  fell  into  kind  hands. 

A  short  time  after  dark  the  enemy  made  a  fierce 
assault  upon  us,  but  were  finally  repulsed  and  driven 
back. 

Our  lines  were  adjusted  and  preparations  made  for  a 
renewal  of  the  battle  on  the  following  morning  (Sep- 
tember 20). 

Bragg  gave  Polk  instructions  to  attack  at  daylight 
on  the  20tli,  but  for  some  reason  unknown  he  delayed 
until  about  ten  o'clock.  From  daylight  until  the  attack 
was  made  our  army  occuj)ied  itself  in  throwing  up 
temporary  breastworks,  so  by  the  time  General  Polk 
— who,  by  the  way,  was  Bishop  of  Tennessee — was 
ready  to  make  us  a  visitation  we  were  also  ready  to  give 
him  a  warm  and  cordial  reception.  Pej^eatedly  during 
the  day  assaulting  columns  would  move  up  to  be  each 
time  repulsed. 

Chickamauga!  How  can  I  tell  of  its  horrors  or 
paint  in  words  its  deeds  of  "  high  emprise"  ?  How  can 
I  portray  the  wonderful  story  of  that  Sabbath-day's 
work,  when  the  Federal  army  held  at  bay  the  outnum- 
bering columns  of  the  foe  with  his  encircled  wall  of 
steel  ?  Then  back  through  the  bitter  night  we  filed  and 
pitched  our  camp  at  Chattanooga,  and  there  for  long 
woful  weeks  we  held  our  jDosition  in  the  face  of  a  be- 


ADDRESS  BY   GENERAL  R.   W.  JOHNSON.  27 

leaguering   enemy  without,  and   griping   famine   and 
mortal  disease,  grim  and  unsparing,  in  our  very  midst. 

This  was  Rosecrans's  last  battle,  and  he  was  succeeded 
by  General  Grant.  Soon  after  his  arrival  he  perfected 
his  plans,  and  on  the  23d  day  of  November  came  the 
battles  of  Missionary  Ridge  and  Lookout  Mountain. 
The  enemy  was  driven  away  and  we  had  a  brief  breath- 
ing spell,  and  then  we  pushed  down  into  the  very  vitals 
of  the  Confederacy.  It  might  almost  be  said,  during 
those  long  months  of  combat  which  culminated  in  the 
capture  of  Atlanta,  that,  like  the  Israelites  of  old,  we 
followed  a  cloud  by  day  and  a  pillar  of  flame  by  night. 
For  in  that  time  Dalton,  Resaca,  Kenesaw,  New  Hope 
Church,  Peach-tree  Creek,  Jonesboro',  and  Altoona, 
and  all  those  other  crimson  names  of  battle,  had  been 
traced  bloodily  into  the  history  of  this  devoted  army. 
Every  day  had  the  smoke-cloud  of  battle  kissed  the 
heavens,  and  each  night  had  flamed  and  flashed  with 
the  lambent  lights  of  our  blazing  guns,  and  we  had 
followed  that  smoke-cloud  and  those  blazing  guns  over 
a  hundred  fields  of  strife,  until  the  old  flag  floated  in 
exultation  over  the  great  "  Gate  City"  of  the  South. 
Here  our  legions  parted.  A  portion  under  Sherman 
participated  in  that  storied  marcli  to  the  sea. 

As  soon  as  his  plans  were  developed,  General  Hood, 
who  commanded  the  Confederate  army  at  that  time, 
started  for  Nashville.  Sherman,  anticipating  such  a 
movement,  left  the  Twenty-third  Corps,  commanded  by 
General  Schofield,  and  the  Fourth  Corps,  commanded 
by  General  Stanley,  the  whole  under  the  command  of 
General  George  H.  Thomas,  to  watch  his  movements. 
Hood   marched  to  Florence,   Alabama,   and   Thomas 


28  GLIMPSES  OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

ordered  Scliofield  and  Stanley,  with  the  troops  under 
their  command,  to  Pulaski,  Tennessee.  As  Hood  ap- 
proached Pulaski  the  Federals  fell  back  to  Nashville. 
At  Franklin,  a  severe  battle  was  fought,  in  which 
Hood's  forces  suffered  severely.  Finally,  all  the  avail- 
able troops  were  concentrated  at  Nashville.  Hood 
moved  up  and  formed  his  lines  around  the  city.  On 
December  15,  all  of  Thomas's  arrangements  having 
been  completed,  our  environed  army  swept  out  of  its 
fortifications  and  actually  and  utterly  annihilated  the 
veteran  ranks  of  the  enemy. 

The  battle  of  Nashville  was  the  last  staggering  blow 
at  the  failing  Confederacy,  and  contributed  in  a  large 
degree  to  the  success  of  military  operations  in  the  East. 
Had  it  terminated  differently,  other  and  bloody  cam- 
paigns would  have  been  the  legitimate  consequences. 
Kichmond  would  have  been  reinforced,  and  the  success 
of  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea  would  have  been  endan- 
gered. 

The  battle  of  Nashville  was  soon  followed  by  a  gen- 
eral collapse  of  the  Rebellion,  and  these  massive  armies, 
which  had  made  themselves  felt  through  all  the  con- 
fines of  the  republic,  resolved  once  more  into  their 
constituent  parts  and  turned  naturally  and  zealously  to 
the  arts  of  peace. 


REMII^ISOENOES 


OF   THE 


LAST  YEAR  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN'S  LIFE. 

EY  CHAPLAIN  EDWARD  D.  NBILL,  D.D. 


One  of  the  most  intelligent  and  extensive  manufac- 
turers of  Dublin,  whose  father  at  the  time  was  a  rep- 
resentative of  that  city  in  the  British  Parliament,  after 
the  transaction  of  some  business  in  the  American  con- 
sulate, said  to  me,  "  Now  tell  me  something  about 
President  Lincoln." 

The  remark  was  not  singular,  but  expressed  the 
desire  which  after  the  war  prevailed  in  all  the  coun- 
tries of  Europe  to  know  more  of  him  who  has  left  a 
name  which  the  world  will  not  willingly  let  die. 

The  paper  which  has  been  prepared  is  not  an  elab- 
orate essay,  nor  will  it  betray  any  confidence,  nor  will 
it  cherish  partisanship,  but  will  only  give  a  few  remi- 
niscences of  President  Lincoln,  who,  in  virtue  of  his 
office,  was  commander-in-chief  of  that  army  and  navy, 
many  of  whose  officers  are  now  members  of  the  Loyal 
Legion  of  the  United  States. 

On  the  21st  of  June,  1861,  the  First  Minnesota  In- 
fantry Kegiment,  amid  the  cheers  and  tears  of  hun- 
dreds, embarked  in  steamboats  from  Jackson  Street,  in 

29 


30  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

the  city  of  St.  Paul,  for  the  valley  of  the  Potomac 
River.  The  next  week  the  regiment  was  encamped  on 
vacant  squares  east  of  the  Caj^itol  in  Washington,  and 
one  day,  in  the  morning  papers,  it  was  announced  that 
in  the  afternoon  the  President  would  assist  in  raising  a 
flag  on  the  grounds  south  of  his  residence ;  and  never 
having  seen  Mr,  Lincoln,  I  went  there  with  some  other 
officers  of  the  regiment.  The  crowd  was  very  great. 
On  the  balcony  of  the  President's  house  sat  General 
Scott,  in  full  uniform,  looking  as  majestic  as  old  Jupiter 
of  the  ancient  sculptors,  while  on  a  temporary  platform 
around  the  flag-staff  stood  the  President,  ready  to  pull 
at  a  given  signal.  Among  the  spectators  directly  before 
me  stood  a  man,  plainly  dressed,  with  serious  counte- 
nance, with  his  wife  by  his  side,  who  was  then  known 
as  Governor  Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee.  Several 
years  after,  Mr.  Johnson,  referring  to  this  occasion,  said 
an  occurrence  took  place  which  the  superstitious  would 
have  considered  an  ill  omen.  He  told  me  the  Presi- 
dent pulled  the  rope  too  long,  so  that  the  bunting  of 
the  flag  was  split,  and  he  could  but  think  at  the  time 
that  he  might  be  pained  by  the  calamity  of  the  great 
republic  rent  in  twain  permanently. 

President  Lincoln  was  not  again  seen  by  me  until 
after  the  First  Minnesota  Regiment  had  the  fiery  trials 
at  Bull  Run,  Fair  Oaks,  and  the  Seven  Days'  battles 
terminating  on  Malvern  Hill.  Early  in  July,  1862, 
while  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  resting  around 
Harrison's  Landing,  on  the  James  River,  impelled  by 
patriotism,  and  impressed  by  the  gravity  of  the  situa- 
tion, he  came  down  to  look  General  McClellan  in  the 
face,  and  aid  him  to  the  extent  of  his  power. 


ADDRESS  BY  EDWARD  D.  NEILL,  D.D.  31 

Attracted  by  cheering,  I  looked  in  the  direction  from 
which  it  came,  and  saw  two  horsemen.  One  had  short 
legs,  but  a  fine  body  and  presence  above  the  hips,  and 
was  on  a  large  horse,  in  military  dress.  It  was  General 
McClellan.  The  other,  six  feet  four  inches  in  height, 
upon  a  smaller  horse,  so  that  his  feet  seemed  very  near 
the  ground,  dressed  as  a  civilian,  with  a  tall  silk  hat, 
was  Abraham  Lincoln.  As  he  rode  in  front  of  the 
army  the  shouts  of  thousands  of  weary  men  showed 
that  his  presence  had  cheered  them ;  yet  no  soldier 
who  saw  him  that  day,  looking  so  much  like  the  typical 
Brother  Jonathan  of  the  caricatures,  can  ever  forget 
the  scene. 

Early  in  1864  I  was  apjwinted  to  read  and  dispose 
of  all  letters  addressed  to  President  Lincoln,  and  com- 
missioned as  secretary  to  sign  land  patents.  A  mail- 
bag  was  brought  to  my  room  at  the  President's  mansion 
twice  a  day,  well  filled  with  letters  upon  various  sub- 
jects. 

Every  month  my  impression  of  the  greatness  of 
President  Lincoln  increased.  He  was  above  a  life  of 
mere  routine.  In  his  bearing  there  was  nothing  artifi- 
cial or  mechanical.  While  he  desired  to  be  appreciated, 
and  estimated  the  honors  conferred  upon  him,  he  was 
never  puffed  up,  nor  used  great,  swelling  words.  In 
conversation  I  never  knew  him  to  speak  of  himself  as 
President,  but  when  necessary  to  allude  to  his  position, 
he  would  use  circumlocution,  and  say,  "  Before  I  came 
here,"  or  something  equivalent.  He  was  independent 
of  all  cliques.  Willing  to  be  convinced,  with  a  won- 
derful patience  he  listened  to  the  opinions  and  criticisms 
of  others.     Those  whose  opinions  were  not  accepted 


32  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

would  sometimes  charge  that  he  was  under  the  thumb 
of  this  or  that  man,  but  the  sequel  always  proved  that 
he  was  not  a  party  tool.  While  he  did  not  frown,  nor 
stamp  his  feet,  while  he  eschewed  the  language  of  the 
Janus-faced  diplomat,  and  was  slow  to  reach  a  conclu- 
sion, yet  when  an  opinion  was  deliberately  formed  he 
was  as  firm  as  a  rock.  At  critical  periods  he  was  prompt 
to  assume  responsibility. 

On  the  morning  of  the  2d  of  February,  1865,  between 
nine  and  ten  o'clock,  as  I  was  ascending  the  stairs  to  the 
second  story,  to  reach  my  room,  I  met  Forbes,  an  intel- 
ligent servant,  descending  with  a  small  valise  in  his 
hand,  and  I  asked,  "  Where  are  you  going  ?"     Looking 
up  to  see  that  no  one  was  near,  he  whispered,  "  Fortress 
Monroe,"  and  hurried  on.     When  I  reached  the  upper 
hall  I  met  the  President  with  his  overcoat,  and  going  to 
my  room,  looked  out  of  the  window,  and  saw  him  quietly 
walking  around  the  curved  pavement  which  leads  to 
Pennsylvania  Avenue,  while  Forbes  was  following,  at 
a  distance  of  two  or  three  hundred  feet,  as  his  valet. 
Waiting  for  some  time,  I  then  crossed  the  hall  to  the 
room  of  the  principal  secretary,  Mr.  John  G.  Nicolay, 
and  quietly  said,  "The  President  has  left  the  city." 
"What  do  you  mean?"  he  asked;  and  I  replied,  "Just 
what  I  have  said."    Kising  quickly,  he  opened  the  door 
which  communicated  with  the  President's  room,  and  was 
astonished  to  find  the  chair  of  Mr.  Lincoln  vacant.    The 
Pj'csident  had  received  a  despatch  which  convinced  him 
that  it  was  proper  to  go  to  Fortress  Monroe  and  confer 
with  the  rebel  commissioners,  Alexander  Stephens,  R. 
M.  T.  Hunter,  and  J.  A.  Campbell,  and  at  nine  o'clock 
that  morning  sent  the  following  telegram  to  Secretary 


ADDRESS  BY  EDWARD   D.  NEILL,  D.D.  33 

Seward,  already  there:  "Induced  by  a  despatch  from 
General  Grant,  I  join  you  at  Fortress  Monroe." 

The  failure  of  this  conference  to  restore  peace  has  be- 
come a  part  of  our  history,  and  upon  it  it  is  unnecessary 
to  dwell.  Upon  the  return  of  the  President,  Forbes  told 
me  that  the  rebel  commissioners  seemed  to  be  very 
friendly,  and  that  after  they  returned  to  the  steamboat, 
which  was  to  take  them  back  to  the  vicinity  of  Rich- 
mond, a  negro  was  sent  in  a  row-boat  by  Mr.  Seward 
with  a  basket  of  champagne,  to  be  presented  with  his 
compliments.  After  the  man  reached  the  deck  the 
commissioners  read  the  note,  and  waved  their  hand- 
kerchiefs in  acknowledgment,  and  then  Mr.  Seward, 
speaking  through  a  boatswain's  trumpet,  said,  "Keep 
the  champagne,  but  return  the  negro."  The  status  of 
the  negro,  in  case  of  cessation  of  hostilities,  had  been 
one  of  the  subjects  discussed  in  the  conference. 

The  President's  capacity  for  work  was  wonderful. 
While  other  men  were  taking  recreation  through  the 
sultry  months  of  summer,  he  remained  in  his  office 
attending  to  the  wants  of  the  nation.  He  was  never  an 
idler  or  a  lounger.  Each  hour  he  was  busy.  At  the 
election  in  November,  1864,  he  was  chosen  President 
for  a  second  term.  Anxious  to  know  the  returns  from 
the  several  States  the  morning  after  the  election,  I  came 
to  the  mansion  earlier  than  usual.  As  I  passed  the 
door  of  his  office,  which  Avas  ajar,  I  saw  that  he  was 
at  his  table  and  engaged  in  official  work.  Entering 
the  room,  I  took  a  seat  by  his  side,  extended  my  hand, 
and  congratulated  him  upon  the  vote,  for  my  country's 
sake  and  for  his  own  sake.  Turning  away  from  the 
papers  which   had   been  occupying  his   attention,  he 


34  GLIMPSES    OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

spoke  kindly  of  his  competitor,  tlie  calm,  prudent  gen- 
eral and  great  organizer,  whose  remains  this  week  have 
been  placed  in  the  cold  grave.  He  told  me  that  General 
Scott  had  recommended  McClellan  as  an  officer  who 
had  studied  the  science  of  war,  and  had  been  in  the 
Crimea  during  the  war  against  Russia,  and  that  he  told 
Scott  that  he  knew  nothing  about  the  science  of  war, 
and  it  was  very  important  to  have  just  such  a  person 
to  organize  the  raw  recruits  of  the  republic  around 
Washington. 

In  June,  1864,  he  was  persuaded  to  attend  a  great 
fair  in  Philadelphia,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Sanitary 
Commission,  and  returned  one  morning  about  ten  o'clock. 
As  official  business  had  accumulated  during  his  absence, 
as  soon  as  he  entered  the  house  he  went  immediately  to 
his  office.  In  less  than  an  hour  I  went  to  see  him,  and 
found  him  stretched  out,  his  head  on  the  back  of  one 
chair,  his  legs  resting  on  another,  his  collar  and  cravat 
on  the  table,  a  mulatto  barber  lathering  his  face,  while 
the  Attorney-General,  Edward  Bates,  was  quietly  seated 
by  his  side,  talking  to  him  upon  some  matter  of  state. 
It  was  a  striking  illustration  of  his  desire  to  be  at  work. 
To  the  question  whether  his  visit  was  pleasant,  he  re- 
plied that  it  was,  and  the  ladies,  he  believed,  had  made 
several  thousand  dollars  by  |)lacing  him  on  exhibition. 

His  memory  was  very  retentive.  During  the  last 
year  of  the  war  a  convalescent  soldier  at  Elmira  Hos- 
pital, New  York,  while  strolling  with  a  fellow-soldier, 
administered  some  drug  to  him  and  robbed  him.  From 
the  effect  of  the  drugging  the  plundered  man  died,  and 
the  robber  was  tried  by  court-martial  and  sentenced  to 
be  hung.     His  friends  obtained  a  suspension  of  sentence 


ADDRESS  BY  EDWARD  D.  NEILL,  D.D.  35 

on  the  ground  that  he  was  insane.  The  testimony  in 
the  case  was  sent  to  a  physician,  the  sujDerintendent  of  a 
lunatic  asylum,  and  his  opinion  requested.  In  due  time 
the  doctor's  report,  covering  several  foolscap  pages,  was 
received  by  mail,  and,  after  being  read  and  endorsed, 
was  sent  to  the  President. 

Some  weeks  after,  General  James  A.  Hardie,  the  as- 
sistant adjutant-general  at  the  War  Department,  came  to 
my  room,  and  said  it  was  very  desirable  that  the  Presi- 
dent should  take  some  action  relative  to  the  soldier 
whose  sentence  had  been  suspended.  Going  to  the 
President,  I  told  him  General  Hardie  wanted  to  know 
about  this  soldier's  papers.  Pointing  to  the  top  of  his 
desk  he  merely  replied,  "There  they  are;  tell  him 
they  are  still  in  soak."  Hardie,  quite  chagrined  by  the 
unsatisfactory  answer,  hurried  off.  In  about  two  weeks 
he  came  again  and  said,  "  The  soldier  ought  to  be  hung 
or  pardoned ;  will  you  again  see  the  President  ?"  I  did 
as  asked,  and  then  the  President  inquired  if  I  had  read 
the  report  which  came  from  the  doctor.  I  answered 
that  I  had.  Then  rising,  he  went  to  a  case  filled  with 
papers,  and  without  the  slightest  difficulty  found  the 
report  and  read  its  last  sentence,  which  was  to  this  effect : 
"  Although  I  cannot  pronounce  the  person  insane,  he 
certainly  is  peculiar."  "  Now,"  he  said,  "  if  these  last 
words  had  not  been  written  I  should  have  had  no  hesi- 
tation in  disposing  of  this  case."  Life  to  him  was  sacred, 
and  he  never  would  sign  a  paper  that  would  take  away 
life  without  deliberation. 

As  a  writer  he  was  fluent  and  forcible.  His  papers 
l3ore  few  marks  of  revision,  and  while  his  style  was  not 
Ciceronian,  it  was  clear,  pure,  and  easily  comprehended. 


36  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

He  composed  letters  amid  distractions  which  would  have 
appalled  other  men.  He  kept  no  formal  letter-book. 
One  morning  in  April,  1864,  he  came  to  me  with  a  letter 
in  his  hand  and  said, — 

"  Perhaps  it  is  well  to  make  a  copy.  Do  so,  and  send 
the  copy  or  the  original,  as  you  prefer,  to  the  person  to 
whom  addressed." 

It  was  his  well-known  letter  to  A.  G.  Hodges,  of 
Frankfort,  Kentucky,  in  which  he  gave  the  substance 
of  his  conversation  with  Governor  Bramlette.  The 
opening  sentences  were : 

"  I  am  naturally  anti-slavery.  If  slavery  is  not  wrong, 
nothing  is  wrong.  I  cannot  remember  when  I  did  not 
so  think  and  feel,  and  yet  I  have  never  understood  that 
the  Presidency  conferred  upon  me  an  unrestricted  right 
to  act  officially  upon  this  judgment  and  feeling.  It  was 
in  the  oath  that  I  took  that  I  would,  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.  I  could  not  take  the  office  with- 
out taking  the  oath.  Nor  was  it  in  my  view  that  I  might 
take  an  oath  to  get  power,  and  break  the  oath  in  using 
the  power." 

In  February,  1865,  he  brought  me  several  notes,  and 
said  they  were  the  correspondence  growing  out  of  the 
visit  of  the  senior  Francis  P.  Blair  to  Richmond,  and 
asked  if  I  would  arrange  and  connect  them  with  red 
tape,  so  that  he  could  show  them  to  friends.  The  first 
was  simply  a  visiting-card,  on  which,  directed  to  no 
person,  was  this  brief  note : 

•'  Allow  the  bearer,  F.  P.  Blair,  Sr.,  to  pass  our  lines,  go 
South  and  return. 

"A.  Lincoln." 


ADDRESS  BY  EDWARD  D.  NEILL,  D.D.  37 

There  was  also  a  letter  from  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis  to 
Mr.  Blair.  Mr.  Davis  in  spelling  the  word  negotiation 
used  a  "  c"  in  i3lace  of  the  first  "  t,"  which  is  unusual. 

President  Lincoln's  accessibility  won  the  hearts  of 
the  people.  No  one  was  too  poor  to  be  received. 
When  more  important  business  was  attended  to,  on 
some  days,  between  two  and  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, he  would  have  his  door  thrown  open,  and  all  in 
the  hall  were  allowed  to  enter  and  prefer  their  requests. 
He  playfully  called  it  "  the  Beggars'  Opera." 

Mr.  Cameron,  his  first  Secretary  of  War,  told  me  he 
came  once  while  a  reception  of  this  kind  was  being 
held,  and  he  wondered  at  the  humor,  patience,  and 
versatility  of  Mr.  Lincoln. 

One  woman  tried  to  obtain  an  order  upon  the  com- 
missary at  Washington  for  provisions  for  her  family  on 
the  ground  that  her  husband  was  a  soldier,  and  was 
with  difiiculty  convinced  that  the  President  could  not 
undertake  to  feed  the  families  which  soldiers  had  left 
behind  them. 

A  Gascon  in  spirit,  with  imperfect  use  of  the  Eng- 
lish language,  in  turn  approached  the  President  with  a 
large  bundle  of  papers  and  the  pompous  announcement 
that  he  spoke  six  languages,  and  wished  an  appoint- 
ment as  consul  to  some  foreign  country.  With  infinite 
tact  he  told  the  persistent  man  to  take  the  papers  to 
the  Secretary  of  State,  and  if  he  would  send  a  com- 
mission he  would  sign  it.  The  sanguine  fellow,  not 
dwelling  upon  the  import  of  that  little  word  "  if,"  left, 
blessing  the  President  for  his  goodness  and  promptness. 

At  length,  Mr.  Cameron  told  me,  when  comjDaratively 
few  were  left  in  the  room,  a  young  man,  who  evidently 


38  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STBUGGLE. 

had  never  been  far  from  the  j^lace  in  which  he  was 
born,  stood  before  the  President,  and  was  greatly  em- 
barrassed. In  search  of  a  paj^er  he  wished  to  present 
he  put  his  hand  into  his  side-pocket,  but  coukl  not  find 
it ;  then  he  began  to  feel  his  overcoat-pockets,  and  be- 
came more  confused.  The  President  waited  patiently, 
and  at  last,  with  a  pleasant  look,  remarked,  "  Friends, 
you  will  remember  that  some  time  ago  a  man  stood 
here  who  told  us  he  could  speak  six  languages,  and  now 
we  have  one  who  does  not  seem  able  to  speak  a  word." 
By  this  time  the  young  man  found  his  paper,  and  con- 
sequently recovered  his  self-possession.  His  application 
was  within  the  power  of  the  President  to  grant,  and 
the  applicant  left  rejoicing. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  manners  were  never  repulsive.  While 
he  could  not  grace  a  ball-room,  nor  comj^ete  with  the 
perfumed  and  spangled  representative  of  a  foreign 
court  in  a  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  fashion,  yet  in  his 
heart  there  was  always  kindly  feeling  for  others ;  and 
thus,  in  the  best  sense,  he  was  a  gentleman.  The  late 
Edward  Everett,  whose  elegance  and  courtliness  of 
manner  no  one  questioned,  met  Mr.  Lincoln  for  the 
first  time  at  the  dinner-table  of  a  friend  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  dedication  of  the  national  cemetery  at  Get- 
tysburg, and  he  afterwards  said  that  he  was  impressed 
with  his  simple,  easy  bearing.  Destitute  of  hauteur, 
and  conscious  of  wishing  no  man  any  harm,  he  had 
from  youth  indulged  in  pleasantry,  by  telling  to  farmers 
at  the  country  store,  and  to  fellow-lawyers  while  going 
to  court,  amusing,  if  not  always  classic,  stories,  not  to 
raise  a  laugh,  but  to  illustrate  his  views.  This  habit 
remained  through  life,  but  no  fair-minded  man  would 


ADDRESS  BY  EDWARD   D.  NEILL,  D.D.  39 

have  called  him  a  trifling  jester  or  a  coarse  buffoon. 
It  was  a  relief  to  him,  amid  the  cares  of  civil  war,  to 
indulge  in  quaint  expressions.  One  day  an  elderly 
gentleman,  who  wished  to  give  a  house  as  a  home  for 
soldiers'  orphans,  visited  him  and  said  "Secretary 
Stanton  was  not  kind,  and  would  not  listen  to  him." 
A  messenger  came  and  said  the  President  wished  to  see 
me.  When  I  entered,  he  wrote  on  a  visiting-card, 
"Will  the  Secretary  of  War  please  see  the  gentle- 
man ?"  and  asked  me  if  I  would  go  with  the  note,  and 
person,  to  the  War  Department.  General  Hardie,  when 
I  met  him,  seemed  displeased  as  he  looked  at  the  gen- 
tleman, but  I  told  him  I  had  been  sent  with  a  note 
from  the  President.  Hastily  taking  the  card,  he  went 
to  the  Secretary's  room,  but  soon  came  out,  and  curtly 
said,  "  The  Secretary  cannot  see  the  gentleman."  Per- 
suading the  person  to  go  back  to  the  hotel  and  leave 
the  city  until  the  times  were  more  propitious,  I  went  to 
the  President,  showed  him  the  card,  and  said  it  had 
failed  to  accomplish  what  was  desired.  With  a  look 
full  of  humor,  he  said,  "  Well !  well !  the  requests  of 
the  commander-in-chief  don't  amount  to  much." 

One  morning  he  told  his  doorkeeper  that  he  would 
not  be  interrupted,  as  he  was  much  engaged.  Senator 
Howard,  of  Michigan,  came  and  said  he  must  see  him. 
The  doorkeeper  could  not  disobey  orders,  and  brought 
him  to  me.  As  soon  as  he  sat  down,  he  showed  that 
he  was  in  ill  humor,  and  said,  "  If  it  were  his  own 
son  he  would  not  act  so."  Never  having  seen  the  Sen- 
ator, and  supposing  him  to  be  some  agent  to  procure 
substitutes,  I  replied  that  if  he  continued  to  speak  dis- 
respectfully of  the  President,  in  his  own  house,  I  must 


40  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

request  him  to  leave  my  room.  He  then  said  that  he 
was  Senator  Howard,  and  that  he  had  come  to  request 
suspension  of  sentence  of  a  soldier  who  in  a  few  hours 
was  to  be  executed. 

Entering  the  President's  room,  I  found  him  very 
busy  in  writing,  and  apologetically  said,  "  Would  not 
have  interrupted  you,  but  Senator  Howard  wants  sus- 
pension in  a  certain  case."  "  Wants  suspension  !  Well, 
that  is  a  queer  request."  Afterwards  he  told  me  to 
write  a  telegram,  giving  the  soldier's  name,  ordering 
suspension  of  sentence,  sign  his  name,  and  send  it 
through  the  War  Department.  I  told  him  I  would 
write  the  order,  but  preferred  that  he  should  sign  it. 

A  drunken  black  man  of  a  low  grade  of  intellect 
killed  some  one  with  an  axe  in  the  suburbs  of  Wash- 
ington, and  was  sentenced  to  be  hung.  A  question 
arose  as  to  whether  it  was  the  duty  of  the  marshal  of 
the  district  or  some  one  else  to  attend  to  the  execution. 
Early  one  morning  I  saw  the  President  in  Secretary 
Nicolay's  room,  and,  as  he  was  not  there,  I  asked  if  I 
could  do  anything.  He  replied,  "  There  is  a  dispute  as 
to  the  hanging  of  a  black  man,  and  I  have  determined 
to  settle  the  controversy  by  not  having  him  hung,  and 
I  would  like  to  see  Marshal  Lamon." 

A  commutation  of  sentence  to  imprisonment  for  life 
was  prepared,  and  Marshal  Lamon  reached  the  scaffold 
as  the  roj^e  was  being  fastened  around  the  culprit's  neck, 
and  it  took  some  time  for  the  city  authorities,  and  a 
longer  time  for  the  dull-headed  negro,  to  comprehend 
that  there  was  to  be  no  hanging,  and  that  the  paper 
read  by  the  marshal  was  a  comnmtation  by  President 
Lincoln. 


ADDRESS  BY  EDWARD  D.  NEILL,  D.D.  41 

The  President  cultivated  no  animosities,  and  for  the 
public  good  would  sometimes  appoint  those  who  criti- 
cised his  acts.  Major  John  Hay,  the  unmarried  secre- 
tary, one  day  said  to  me,  "  What  do  you  think  Mr. 
Lincoln  has  done  ?"  Then  he  told  me  that  he  had  just 
nominated  Salmon  P.  Chase  as  the  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  It  was  an  act  of  magnanimity,  as  Mr. 
Chase  had  been  willing  to  see  him  defeated,  and  had 
aided  in  the  circulation  of  a  pamphlet  giving  reasons 
why  he  should  not  be  nominated  a  second  time  for  the 
Presidency.  While  Mr.  Lincoln  was  dead  and  yet 
unburied,  in  examining  his  papers,  I  found  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Simeon  Draper,  written  as  early  as  1862,  in 
which  he  mentioned  that  Chief  Justice  Taney  had 
reached  so  great  an  age  that  his  days  on  earth  would 
be  few,  and  that  when  his  death  occurred  he  hoped  Mr. 
Chase  would  be  his  successor. 

The  President  knew  that  there  were  those  in  his 
Cabinet  and  in  the  army  willing  to  take  his  seat. 
Letters  had  been  received  mentioning  that  one  of 
General  B.  F.  Butler's  staff  officers  was  visiting  in  the 
West,  and  whispering  that  the  general  was  willing  to 
be  President.  Mr.  Chase  was  too  willing  to  be  his 
successor.  No  wonder  it  was  a  relief  to  know  that 
General  Grant  had  no  aspirations  in  that  direction. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  9th  of 
March,  1864,  a  messenger  told  me  to  look  out  of  the 
window  of  my  room  and  I  would  see  General  Grant. 
I  went,  and  saw  a  plain,  round-shouldered  man  in  citi- 
zen's dress,  with  a  lad,  his  eldest  son,  by  his  side, 
walking  away  from  the  house,  where  he  had  been  to 
pay  his  first  visit   to  the  President.     To  gratify  the 


42  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

public  and  appease  the  reporters,  the  President  wrote 
the  few  words  which  he  had  spoken  when  he  gave  the 
general  his  commission  upon  a  piece  of  paper,  partly 
torn,  and  Grant  penned  a  brief  reply. 

During  the  latter  part  of  1864,  Grant  sent  a  telegram 
to  this  effect,  indicating  his  pertinacity  :  "  It  seems  to  me 
that  a  call  should  be  issued  for  more  men,  but  in  any 
event  I  shall  continue  and  do  the  best  with  those  I  have 
left." 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1865  the  President  sent  a  tele- 
gram to  General  Grant,  as  follows :  "  The  financial 
pressure  is  so  great,  I  hope  that  you  will  make  an  early 
move  and  close  the  war." 

Full  of  anxiety,  Mr.  Lincoln  went  to  the  front  during 
the  last  days  of  JMarcli,  and  a  movement  was  begun 
under  General  Sheridan.  On  the  2d  of  April  Kich- 
mond  was  evacuated,  and  on  the  9th  General  Lee 
surrendered. 

The  President  did  not  exult  when  there  was  a  vic- 
tory nor  manifest  depression  when  circumstances  were 
adverse. 

After  our  arms  had  been  successful  guns  were  fired 
in  honor  of  the  victory  in  the  public  square  in  front 
of  the  mansion.  Although  the  concussion  would  cause 
the  windows  to  rattle,  he  never  made  allusion  to  the 
salutes.  He  felt  that  war  in  any  aspect  was  deplorable, 
and  that  one  victory  did  not  conquer  a  peace.  Nor  was 
he  disturbed  when  there  was  an  a23pearance  of  danger. 

During  the  summer  of  1864  I  lived  in  the  country 
thirteen  miles  from  the  city,  near  the  junction  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Washington  turnpike  with  the  railroad. 
After  breakfast,  on  Tuesday,  July  12,  I  went,  as  usual, 


ADDRESS  BY  EDWARD  D.  NEILL,  D.D.  43 

ill  a  railway-car  to  the  city,  and  before  noon  my  house 
was  surrounded  b}^  General  Bradley  Johnson's  insur- 
gent cavalry,  who  had  made  an  attempt  to  cajDture  the 
New  York  express-train,  and  robbed  the  country  store 
near  by  of  its  contents.  The  presence  of  the  enemy 
stopped  all  travel  by  railroad,  and  Senator  Ramsey,  of 
Minnesota,  who  happened  to  be  in  Washington,  found 
no  way  to  the  North  except  by  descending  the  Potomac 
to  its  mouth  and  then  ascending  Chesapeake  Bay  to  the 
city  of  Baltimore.  While  the  cavalry  were  in  the  fields 
around  my  house  the  enemy's  infantry  was  marching 
towards  the  capital,  by  what  was  called  the  Seventh 
Street  road,  and  they  set  fire  to  the  residence  of  the 
Hon.  Montgomery  Blair,  who  had  been  Postmaster- 
General.  As  I  sat  in  my  room  at  the  President's  the 
smoke  of  the  burning  mansion  was  visible,  but  business 
was  transacted  with  as  much  quietness  as  if  the  foe 
were  hundreds  of  miles  distant.  Mr.  Fox,  the  Assistant 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  had,  in  a  private  note,  informed 
the  President  that  if  there  was  any  necessity  to  leave 
the  city,  he  would  find  a  steamer  in  readiness  at  the 
wharf  at  the  foot  of  Sixth  Street. 

About  one  o'clock  of  the  afternoon  of  each  day  of 
the  skirmishing  the  President  would  enter  his  carriage 
and  drive  to  the  forts  in  the  suburbs  and  watch  the 
soldiers  repulse  the  invaders. 

The  letters  sent  to  the  President  from  day  to  day 
were  of  all  descriptions, 

"  From  grave  to  gay,  from  lively  to  severe." 

A  rude  wag,  the  day  after  his  election  for  a  second 
term,  wrote:    "Dear  Old  Abe, — Yesterday  I  worked 


44  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

hard  for  you  all  day,  and  wore  out  my  boots.  Please 
send  a  new  pair  by  mail."  After  the  surrender  of 
General  Lee,  ropes  began  to  arrive  by  express,  with 
humorous  notes,  requesting  that  they  might  be  used  in 
hanging  the  late  President  of  the  insurgent  States  upon 
*^  a  sour  apple-tree." 

A  cheery  woman  from  distant  Oregon  wrote  that  the 
health  of  her  husband  had  failed,  and  that  it  would  be 
be  a  great  assistance  if  he  were  made  postmaster.  She 
continued  : 

"  By  the  name  I  bear  since  my  marriage  you  will 
not  know  me,  but  you  will  when  I  tell  you  that  I  am 

Deacon  's  daughter,  at  whose  house  you  used  to 

stop  in  going  to  court,  and  you  may  remember  that 
once,  after  sewing  a  button  on  your  coat,  you  laugh- 
ingly said,  '  I  will  not  forget  you  when  I  am  Presi- 
dent;' and  on  another  occasion,  when  my  father  was 
making  preparation  for  his  quite  lengthy  evening 
family  prayer,  you  whispered,  '  Go  up-stairs  and  bring 
down  a  pillow  for  me,  for  I  am  afraid  my  knees  will 
become  sore.' " 

While  some  letters  provoked  a  smile,  others  stirred 
the  higher  emotions.  A  sister  of  the  rebel  general 
called  Stonewall  Jackson  told  her  joy  at  seeing  the 
Union  troops  around  her  farm  in  Virginia,  and  how 
gladly  she  looked  upon  the  flag  of  the  republic,  and 
the  blue  uniforms  of  the  officers. 

A  boy  not  twenty  years  of  age  unfolded  a  tale  of 
sorrow.  He  wrote  that  an  elder  brother  had  enlisted, 
and  for  some  reason  had  left  his  regiment,  and  was 
marked  as  a  deserter.  His  i)arents  in  consequence  were 
humiliated  and  heart-broken,  and  he  feared  that  their 


ADDRESS  BY  EDWARD  D.  NEILL,  D.D.  45 

days  on  earth  would  be  shortened  in  consequence  of 
tliat  word  affixed  to  their  son's  name.  He  then  begged 
that  the  government  would  take  him  and  allow  him  to 
serve  the  full  term  of  his  brother's  enlistment,  on  con- 
dition that  his  brother  would  be  absolved. 

A  letter  once  came  from  Canada,  every  line  of  which 
seemed  to  be  the  moan  of  a  burdened  conscience.  The 
writer  told  how  he  had  been  skulking  for  months  as  a 
deserter,  but  that  within  a  short  time  he  had  been 
attending  church,  had  repented  and  determined  to  lead 
a  new  life.  From  the  hour  he  had  changed  his  course, 
although  friends  dissuaded  him,  he  felt  impelled  to 
write  to  the  President,  and  mention  that  on  a  certain 
day,  and  at  a  certain  hour,  he  would  be  seen  walking 
in  the  grounds  around  the  mansion,  clothed  in  a  certain 
manner.  A  messenger  was  told  to  be  on  the  watch, 
and  at  the  time  specified  he  came  to  my  room  and 
said,  "The  man  with  the  specified  overcoat  is  there." 
He  was  then  brought  up  to  my  room.  He  had  the 
emaciated  face  of  one  who  had  experienced  mental  suf- 
fering, and  willing,  if  necessary,  to  die  for  his  trans- 
gression. While  he  waited  his  letter  was  sent  and 
explained  to  the  President,  who  wrote  on  the  back  to 
this  effect :  "  Let  this  man  be  returned  to  his  regiment 
without  penalty,  except  that  he  shall  serve,  after  the 
expiration  of  his  term  of  enlistment,  the  number  of 
days  he  was  absent  by  desertion." 

Time  fiiils  me  to  relate  all  that  I  could,  and  I  will 
now  confine  myself  to  incidents  in  connection  with  the 
last  days  of  the  earthly  career  of  this  remarkable  man. 

On  Monday,  the  9th  of  April,  1865,  the  citizens  of 
Washington  were  full  of  joy  at  the  intelligence  of  the 


46  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

surrender  of  General  Lee,  and  began  to  throng  around 
the  Presidential  mansion.  On  Tuesday  morning  a  pro- 
cession, with  a  band  of  music,  arrived  while  I  was  con- 
versing with  the  President,  who  told  the  messenger  to 
tell  them  that  he  would  address  them  that  evening.  On 
that  night  he  delivered  his  last  public  address,  "  not  in 
sorrow,  but  in  gladness  of  heart,"  as  the  opening  sen- 
tence indicated.  At  this  time  Chief  Justice  Chase  was 
holding  court  in  Baltimore,  and  on  Thursday  a  letter 
from  him  passed  through  my  hands,  objecting  to  some 
of  the  phraseology  of  the  President  in  the  address  rela- 
tive to  the  emancipation  proclamation. 

It  was  now  evident  that,  while  the  war  was  ended, 
the  work  of  building  up  confidence  in  the  government 
in  the  late  slave  States  would  be  herculean,  requiring 
the  "wisdom  of  a  serpent  and  the  gentleness  of  a  dove  " 

On  Thursday,  I  think,  he  mentioned  that  he  wished 
to  see  Mr.  John  W.  Forney,  the  secretary  of  the  Senate, 
and  also  editor  of  the  Philadelphia  Press  and  the  Wash- 
ington Chronicle.  Mr.  Forney  afterwards  told  me  that 
he  had  conferred  with  him,  and  suggested  that  he  should 
make  an  informal  visit  to  Pichmond  and  other  cities  of 
the  South,  and  urge  upon  editors  and  leading  men  the 
desirableness  of  their  giving  a  full  support  to  the  meas- 
ures of  government.  By  this  method  he  hoped  that 
enough  at  least  would  be  persuaded  to  rally  around  the 
flag,  so  as  to  obviate  the  necessity  of  appointing  as  post- 
masters, collectors  of  revenue,  and  judges  of  courts  those 
not  natives  of  the  South,  with  no  jDcrmanent  interest  in 
its  welfare,  who  would  leave  as  soon  as  the  emoluments 
of  office  ceased.  By  this  time  those  persons  always 
ready  to  give  advice  began  to  call,  and  tell  what  they 


ADDRESS  BY  EDWARD  D.  NEILL,  D.D.  47 

thought  should  he  done  with  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis. 
AVearied  and  annoyed,  he  said  to  Slade,  his  mulatto 
doorkeeper, — 

"This  talk  about  Mr.  Davis  tires  me.  I  hope  he  will 
mount  a  fleet  horse,  reach  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  and  drive  so  far  into  its  waters  that  we  shall 
never  see  him  again." 

The  last  interview  I  had  with  him  was  between  three 
and  four  o'clock  of  the  last  afternoon  of  his  earthly  life. 
A  colonel  of  a  Vermont  regiment,  who  had  been  on  a 
furloudi  durino'  his  absence  from  the  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac,  had  been  made  a  brigadier-general.  Upon  his 
return  he  stopped  at  the  War  Department  for  his  com- 
mission, and  was  told  that  it  had  been  sent  over  to  the 
President  for  his  signature.  Coming  to  the  President's 
house,  he  told  the  doorkeeper  of  the  office  the  occasion 
of  his  visit,  and  he  was  brought  to  me.  That  afternoon 
there  had  been  a  Cabinet  meeting  and  an  interview 
with  General  Grant,  and  I  went  to  see  the  President, 
and  found  that  he  had  retired  to  the  private  part  of 
the  house  for  a  lunch.  While  I  was  looking  over 
the  papers  on  his  table  to  see  if  I  could  find  the  de- 
sired commission,  he  came  back,  eating  an  apple.  I 
told  him  for  what  I  was  looking,  and  as  I  talked  he 
placed  his  hand  on  the  bell-pull,  when  I  said,  "For 
whom  are  you  going  to  ring  ?"  Placing  his  hand  upon 
my  coat,  he  spoke  but  two  words, — "Andrew  John- 
son." Then  I  said,  "  I  will  come  in  again."  As  I 
was  leaving  the  room  the  Vice-President  had  been 
ushered,  and  the  President  advanced  and  took  him  by 
the  hand. 

None  but  God  knew  then  that  an  assassin  was  pre- 


48  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

paring  plans  by  which  the  President  in  a  few  hours 
would  be  mortally  wounded. 

After  ten  o'clock  on  Friday  morning  Mrs.  Lincoln 
sent  a  servant  to  my  room  to  know  whether  any  compli- 
mentary tickets  had  been  received  by  me,  inviting  the 
President  and  family  to  attend  that  night  the  play  of 
"Our  American  Cousin"  at  Ford's  Theatre.     I  replied, 
"  No,"  and  in  less  than  an  hour  from  that  time  a  mes- 
senger was  sent  to  the  theatre  to  say  that  the  President's 
family  wished  a  box.     It  was  not  until  after  that  hour 
that  the  assassin  began  to  form  his  plans  for  that  night. 
Just  at  dawn   on  Saturday  morning  I  was  aroused 
from  sleep  by  a  loud  pounding,  and,  going  down  to  the 
door  of  my  country-house  and  opening  it,  found  the 
sergeant  of  the  guard  at  the  railroad  crossing,  who  told 
me  that  the  President  and  his  Cabinet  had  been  shot, 
that  all  travel  on  the  road  from  Washington  had  been 
stopped,  and  then  he  burst  into  tears. 

To  me  the  surprise  was  not  as  great  as  it  was  to  this 
loyal,  tender-hearted  soldier.  Threatening  letters  had 
come  to  the  President  through  the  mails,  which  did  not, 
however,  except  in  one  instance,  seem  worthy  of  notice 
or  preservation.  That  letter  was  postmarked  Glovers- 
ville.  New  York,  about  forty  miles  northwest  of  Albany, 
during  the  latter  part  of  February.  The  handwriting 
was  not  at  all  disguised,  but  clear  and  bold.  The  sen- 
tences were  brief  and  those  of  a  person  terribly  in 
earnest,  and  to  this  effect :  "  God  knows  I  have  hated 
you,  but  God  knows  I  cannot  be  a  murderer.  Beware 
of  the  ides  of  March.  Do  not,  like  Julius  Caesar,  go  to 
the  Senate  unarmed.  If  I  did  not  love  my  life,  I  would 
sign  my  name." 


ADDRESS  BY  EDWARD  D.  NEILL,  D.D.  49 

The  words  made  such  an  impression  that  I  consulted 
with  Major  John  Hay,  the  unmarried  secretary,  who 
slept  at  the  mansion,  and  whose  chamber  adjoined  my 
room.  He  remarked,  "  What  can  we  do  to  prevent 
assassination  ?  The  President  is  so  accessible  that  any 
villain  can  feign  business,  and,  while  talking  to  him, 
draw  a  razor  and  cut  his  throat,  and  some  minutes 
might  elapse  after  the  murderer's  escape  before  we 
could  discover  what  had  been  done." 

This  letter  I  did  not  destroy,  but  some  weeks  after 
Harold,  Payne,  and  others  had  been  executed,  I  gave 
it  to  Judge-Advocate-General  Holt,  who  subsequently 
told  me  that  he  had  no  doubt  that  the  writer  had  some 
knowledge  of  Booth's  desire  to  do  evil.  Who  the  writer 
was  will  probably  never  be  known. 

As  no  cars  were  allowed  to  run,  upon  the  tender  of  a 
locomotive  I  rode  to  Washington,  and  reached  the  house 
about  an  hour  after  the  President's  body  had  arrived. 
A  vast  crowd  was  in  the  streets,  a  guard  of  soldiers  at 
each  gate,  the  halls  of  the  mansion,  ordinarily  filled 
with  visitors,  were  still,  and  everything  seemed  to  weep. 
My  position  was  lonely.  Mr.  John  G.  Nicolay,  the 
principal  secretary,  was  absent  on  a  short  sea-voyage ; 
Major  Hay,  by  the  long  watching  through  the  night, 
was  worn  out,  and  lay  upon  the  sofa  in  his  chamber,  so 
that  the  duty  devolved  upon  me  to  read  and  dispose  of 
all  the  papers  that  had  accumulated  in  the  office  since 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  President,  and  make  such  dis- 
position of  them  as  my  judgment  suggested.  Few 
men's  papers  can  be  found  in  this  world  so  free  from 
anything  objectionable,  or  sentiments  which  it  would  be 
desirable  that  the  public  should  not  know,  as  were  these. 


50  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

In  the  mail  received  after  the  President  was  lying 
cold  with  death,  there  were  two  which  made  some 
impression.  One  was  from  General  Burnside,  resigning 
his  position,  thanking  the  President  for  the  considera- 
tion he  had  always  shown,  and  expressing  his  willing- 
ness, should  the  nation's  life  be  again  endangered,  once 
more  to  buckle  on  his  sword.  The  other  was  written 
by  Chief  Justice  Chase,  at  Barnum's  Hotel,  Baltimore, 
on  Friday  night,  not  long  before  the  fatal  shot  was 
fired.  Mr.  Chase  had  written  on  Wednesday  relative 
to  the  emancipation  proclamation,  but  this  second  letter 
was  on  the  position  the  government  should  assume 
towards  the  late  slave  population,  and  in  it  was  asked, 
"  Cannot  you  take  the  position  of  universal  suffrage?" 

Mr.  Lincoln  preferred  intelligent,  impartial  suffrage, 
without  respect  to  color,  but  was  willing  to  give  the 
right  to  vote  to  all  colored  men  who  had  been  soldiers 
of  the-  United  States,  even  if  they  could  not  read. 

On  Saturday,  Slade,  the  messenger,  came  to  me  and 
said  he  was  very  unhappy,  and  asked  me  if  I  had 
noticed  as  I  crossed  the  hall  to  the  President's  room  on 
Friday  afternoon  that  he  was  listening  to  the  Vice- 
President,  and  nodding  assent  as  he  conversed.  I  told 
him  I  had  observed  him.     He  then  said, — 

"  It  is  what  I  said  to  Mr.  Johnson  that  makes  me 
feel  miserable."  The  Vice-President  had  expressed  his 
respect  for  Mr.  Lincoln,  but  said  he  thought  if  he  were 
President  he  would  not  make  it  too  easy  for  the  rebels, 
and  that  having  African  blood  in  his  veins  he  had 
nodded  assent,  and  expressed  the  wish  that  at  some 
future  day  he  might  be  President. 

Assuring;  him   that   there  was   no   occasion   for  his 


ADDRESS   BY  EDWARD  D.  NEILL,  D.D.  5I 

unhappiness,  he  seemed  to  be  in  a  measure  relieved. 
Slade  was  a  faithful  man,  prudent  and  dignified.  He 
was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  colored 
people  on  Fifteenth  Street,  near  the  President's  mansion. 

After  the  funeral  he  came  to  me  in  a  different  frame 
of  mind,  and  told  me  the  ambition  of  his  life  was  satis- 
fied, that  President  Johnson  had  sent  for  him  and  made 
him  the  steward  of  the  house,  which  gave  him  a  good 
salary  and  some  perquisites.  He  died  before  Mr.  John- 
son's term  expired,  and  camellia  japonicas  were  sent  by 
the  President  to  be  placed  on  his  cofiin,  and  the  Presi- 
dent's daughters  attended  the  burial  services. 

About  ten  o'clock  on  Saturday  night  Major  Hay, 
who  had  recovered,  came  to  me  and  said  that  he  thought 
some  one  ought  to  suggest  to  acting  President  Johnson 
that  it  would  be  well  for  him  to  inform  the  widow  that 
there  was  no  need  of  undue  haste  in  leaving  the  man- 
sion. Going  to  the  National  Hotel,  I  found  Senator 
Ramsey,  of  Minnesota,  in  his  private  parlor,  and  asked 
him  if  he  would  see  Mr.  Johnson,  to  which  request  he 
consented.  On  Sunday  morning,  about  eleven  o'clock, 
the  cards  of  Senators  Ramsey  and  Norton  were  brought 
to  me,  and  a  messenger  was  sent  to  Robert,  the  elder 
son  of  the  dead  President,  who  came  and  stood  by  the 
table  where  his  father  had  so  lately  transacted  business. 
After  introducing  the  Senators,  Senator  Ramsey  de- 
livered the  request  of  President  Johnson,  that  his 
mother  should  not  feel  constrained  to  leave  the  house 
until  she  had  made  all  proper  arrangements. 

This  son  had  but  a  few  months  before  graduated  at 
Harvard  University,  and  his  manly  bearing  on  that 
trying  occasion  made  me  feel  that  he  was  a  worthy  son 


52  GLIMPSES  OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

of  a  worthy  father.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that,  in  after- 
years,  he  succeeded  Senator  Ramsey  as  Secretary  of 
War. 

Just  before  the  funeral.  President  Lincoln's  first 
Secretary  of  War,  Simon  Cameron,  so  long  identified 
with  the  politics  of  Pennsylvania,  and  still  living,  told 
me  that  during  his  long  public  career  he  had  never  met 
one  who  was  more  sagacious  and  far-seeing. 

Not  long  after  the  surrender  of  Richmond,  a  native 
of  the  South,  now  a  professor  in  South  Carolina,  visited 
me  and  passed  a  night.  In  the  chamber  where  he 
slept  there  were  on  the  table  some  of  the  advance 
sheets  of  Raymond's  "  Life  of  Lincoln,"  which  he  had 
taken  up  and  read.  After  taking  his  seat  at  the 
breakfast-table,  he  said  that  he  now  believed  the 
caricatures  and  exaggerations  of  the  peculiarities  of 
the  President  would  soon  be  forgotten,  and  that  his 
name  would  be  honored  like  that  of  Washington. 

The  surgeon  on  duty  with  the  ship  "  Congress,"  in 
the  terrible  fight  with  the  rebel  ram  "  Merrimac,"  in 
Hampton  Roads,  upon  his  return  from  a  cruise  in  the 
Mediterranean,  after  the  war,  told  me  that  he  was  not 
only  surprised,  but  gratified,  to  find  in  several  restau- 
rants in  Italy  the  likeness  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

The  words  of  Paterculus,  the  historian  of  the  time 
of  one  of  the  Caesars,  relative  to  a  distinguished  man 
of  his  century,  can  be  aptly  applied  to  him  of  whom 
we  have  spoken :  "  His  distinctive  characteristic  was 
this,  that  he  was  preceded  by  none  whom  he  imitated, 
nor  did  any  come  after  who  could  imitate  him." 

A  poet,  before  Mr.  Lincoln's  death,  well  portrayed 
his  future  reputation  in  the  following  lines : 


ADDRESS  BY  EDWARD  D.  NEILL,  D.D.  53 

No  adulation  shall  the  poet  bring, 

No  o'erwrought  picture  of  thy  excellence ; 
But  taught  by  truthfulness  shall  simply  sing 

The  passing  worth  of  cheerful  common  sense  ; 
Shall  call  thy  honesty  a  priceless  gem, 

Thy  patience  beautiful,  thy  faith  sublime. 
Thy  gentle  nature  let  the  harsh  condemn, 

Just  Heaven's  reward  is  in  the  hand  of  Time. 
Work  on  amidst  the  nation's  wild  turmoil. 

The  day  of  triumph  brightens  up  the  sky, 
The  tree  of  peace  springs  up  from  roots  of  toil, 

Its  leaves  shall  sweetly  crown  thee  by  and  by. 
Smile  on  amid  thy  cares,  O  Freedom's  friend. 
The  people's  heart  is  with  thee  to  the  end." 


SOME  ACCOUNT  AND  RECOLLECTIONS 

OP   THE 

OPERATIONS  AGAINST  THE  CITY  OF  MOBILE  AND  ITS  DE- 
FENCES, 1864  AND  1865. 

BY  MAJOE  CHAELES  J.  ALLEN, 

CORPS   OP   ENGINEERS,    UNITED   STATES   ARMY. 


The  operations  against  Mobile  in  1864  were  notice- 
able for  the  capture  of  the  ram  "  Tennessee"  by  the  fleet 
of  Admiral  Farragut,  and  for  the  effect  of  our  artillery 
fire  against  Fort  Morgan.  Those  of  the  spring  follow- 
ing, by  the  land  and  naval  forces,  and  in  which  Minne- 
sota soldiers  bore  a  distinguished  part,  though  among 
the  most  important  and  successful  of  our  undertakings, 
were  largely  overshadowed  by  the  gigantic  military 
operations  occurring  at  the  same  time  in  Virginia,  as 
well  as  by  the  surrender  of  Lee  and  the  assassination  of 
Lincoln. 

It  is  not  possible,  in  the  limits  accorded  this  paper,  to 
attempt  more  than  an  outline  account  of  the  operations 
about  Mobile  and  the  narration  of  a  few  incidents  that 
may  serve  to  recall  to  some  of  my  hearers  memories  of 
events  in  which  they  took  part  more  than  twenty  years 
ago,  if,  indeed,  they  could  ever  have  forgotten  them. 

My  field-notes  of  1864  and  1865  not  all  being  acces- 

54 


jOCRftTE  OEFCv- 


MOBILE. 
1664.-18(1^. 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR    CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  55 

sible,  I  have  verified  the  important  dates  and  figures  by 
reference  to  ofiicial  and  other  accounts,  and  for  the  use 
of  which  this  general  acknowledgment  is  made. 

Mobile,  the  principal  city  of  Alabama  in  population 
and  commercial  importance,  had,  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
Rebellion,  a  population  of  about  thirty  thousand.  Orig- 
inally settled  by  Spaniards,  it  contained,  in  1814,  per- 
haps one  hundred  and  fifty  houses.  The  city  is  situated 
at  the  northwest  angle  of  Mobile  Bay,  which  is  about 
thirty  miles  long  by  fifteen  wide  at  its  southern,  and  six 
at  its  northern,  extremity.  The  Mobile  River,  formed 
by  the  union  of  the  Alabama  and  Tombigbee,  discharges 
into  the  bay  in  front  of  the  city.  The  Tombigbee  and 
the  Alabama  were  important  to  the  Confederacy ;  the 
latter  especially,  as  it  was  navigated  by  large  steamers 
to  Montgomery.  Mobile  was  also  connected  with  the 
interior  of  the  Confederacy  by  the  Mobile  and  Ohio 
Railroad,  and  the  Mobile  and  Great  Northern,  the  latter 
connecting  it  with  Montgomery,  Columbus,  and  Atlanta, 
and  also  with  Pensacola.  Selma,  on  the  Alabama  River, 
was  important  to  the  Confederate  government  from  its 
shops,  which  eventually  turned  out  war  material  but 
little,  if  at  all,  inferior  to  that  manufactured  at  Atlanta. 

Mobile  was  one  of  the  most  advantageous  of  Southern 
ports  for  blockade-runners,  and  the  importance  of  wrest- 
ing it  from  the  rebels  was  early  recognized  by  the  United 
States  authorities ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  rebels  pro- 
ceeded to  fortify  it  in  a  manner  commensurate  with  its 
importance  to  themselves.  The  more  pressing  necessity 
to  the  Union  of  opening  the  Mississippi,  however,  led 
first  to  the  projecting  of  operations  against  New  Orleans 
by  way  of  the  passes  of  the  Mississi^Dpi,  operations  which 


56  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

threatened  Mobile  and  necessitated  the  retention,  by  the 
Confederates,  of  a  respectable  force  in  its  vicinity. 

Upon  the  outbreak  of  the  war  the  ports  of  the  seced- 
ing States  were  blockaded  or  observed  by  the  United 
States  navy.  After  several  changes  in  the  composition 
of  the  Gulf  Squadron,  Flag-officer  Farragut  was  as- 
signed to  command,  his  district  extending  from  the 
Mexican  border  to  some  distance  beyond  Pensacola. 

It  was  not  practicable  for  Mobile  to  receive  decided 
attention  from  our  forces  until  1864.  We  find  General 
Sherman  writing  from  Nashville  on  April  3  of  that 
year  to  General  Banks,  who  was  on  the  Red  River: 
"  The  thirty  days  for  which  I  loaned  you  the  command 
of  A.  J.  Smith  will  expire  on  the  10th  instant.  ...  I 
must  have  A.  J.  Smith's  troops  now  as  soon  as  possible. 
.  .  .  All  is  well  in  this  quarter,  and  I  hope  by  the  time 
you  turn  against  Mobile  our  forces  will  again  act  to- 
wards the  same  end,  though  from  distant  points.  Gen- 
eral Grant  now  having  lawful  control,  will  doubtless  see 
that  all  minor  objects  are  disregarded,  and  that  all  the 
armies  act  on  a  common  plan." 

The  unfortunate  outcome  of  the  Red  River  expedition 
interfered  with  the  plan  for  an  immediate  advance  upon 
Mobile. 

Major-General  E.  R.  S.  Canby,  an  accomplished 
officer,  was  assigned  to  command  of  the  military  division 
of  West  Mississippi,  in  which  was  included  Banks's 
department.  A.  J.  Smith,  with  his  command,  was  or- 
dered to  Canby,  but  the  orders  were  recalled,  and  Smith 
marched  against  Forrest,  whom  he  defeated  at  Tupelo 
in  the  early  days  of  July. 

Admiral  Farragut  had  long  been  anxious  to  attack 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR    CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  57 

the  defences  of  Mobile,  in  order  to  prevent  the  com- 
pletion of  rebel  ironclads  under  construction  there, 
one  of  which,  the  "Tennessee,"  was  afterwards  used 
against  his  fleet  with  fearful  effect.  By  the  latter  part 
of  July  events  justified  a  combined  land  and  naval 
attack  upon  the  outer  channel  defences  of  the  city. 
The  city  itself  was  protected  on  its  land-front  by  three 
nearly  parallel  lines  of  massive  works,  connected  by 
strong  infantry  parapets,  the  left  flanks  resting  on 
Mobile  Bay  and  the  right  on  Mobile  River.  The  main 
entrance  to  the  bay  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  was  de- 
fended by  Forts  Gaines  and  Morgan,  works  constructed 
by  the  government  long  before  the  Rebellion,  excellent 
for  their  time,  but  not  calculated  to  withstand  the  artil- 
lery of  1864.  Morgan,  at  the  western  extremity  of 
Mobile  Point,  a  sandspit  bordering  the  southerly  part 
of  the  bay,  commanded  the  deepest  channel,  which  lay 
close  to  it.  The  fort  was  a  masonry  bastioned  work, 
pentagonal  in  plan,  casemated,  with  wide  and  deep 
ditch,  and  embrasured  for  flank  casemate  howitzers  for 
defence  against  escalade,  and  also  partly  protected  by  a 
glacis.  The  heavy  guns,  about  fifty  in  number,  were 
mounted  en  barbette,  and  included  8-  and  10-inch  Co- 
lumbiads,  24-  and  32-pounders,  6i-,  7-,  and  8-inch 
rifles,  and  one  Whitworth  rifle  of  about  3-inch  calibre. 
Before  the  northwest  front  was  a  water-battery  of  seven 
heavy  guns,  including  two  6i-inch  rifles,  and  in  the 
northwest  place  of  arms  a  battery  of  three  7-  and  8-inch 
rifles.  There  exists  a  good  deal  of  discrepancy  between 
different  statements  as  to  the  armament,  but  the  fore- 
going is  not  far  from  correct.  Inside  the  fort  was  a 
barrack  intended  to  be  bomb-proof.     At  least  thirty- 


58  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

six  guns  bore  upon  the  channel,  and  the  land-ap- 
proaches were  swept  by  the  guns  of  two  fronts.  On 
the  opposite  side  of  the  entrance,  and  three  and  one- 
eighth  miles  distant,  on  the  eastern  end  of  Dauphin 
Island,  was  Fort  Gaines,  also  a  masonry  bastioned  work, 
mounting  sixteen  barbette  guns  ranging  from  the  10- 
inch  Columbiad  down  to  the  18-pounder  smooth-bore. 
The  fort* mounted,  in  addition,  several  siege  and  flank 
casemate  howitzers.  It  was  too  distant  from  Morgan 
for  its  artillery  to  play  any  important  part  in  resisting 
a  fleet  passing  close  to  the  latter,  it  having  been  designed 
to  command  the  shoaler  approaches  to  the  bay  to  the 
east  of  Dauphin  Island.  The  entrance  to  Mobile  Bay 
through  Grant's  Pass  from  Mississippi  Sound, — the 
name  given  to  the  extent  of  sea  bordering  Mississippi 
and  Alabama  from  the  Rigolets  to  the  Bay  of  Mobile, 
and  protected  from  the  storms  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
by  a  chain  of  low  sand-islands, — was  defended  by  Fort 
Powell,  a  small  but  strong  earthwork,  constructed  by 
the  Confederates  upon  an  oyster-bank  between  Little 
Dauphin  Island  and  Cedar  Point  on  the  mainland. 
This  work  was  provided  with  strong  traverses  and  maga- 
zines, and  also  with  an  exterior  infantry  parapet  at  the 
water-edge,  to  serve  as  defence  against  attacks  from 
small  boats,  and  mounted  six  heavy  guns  bearing  upon 
the  pass,  but  none  upon  the  bay.  Grant's  Pass  was 
only  navigable  for  light-draught  boats. 

From  the  Fort  Gaines  wharf  to  the  western  border 
of  the  Fort  Morgan  channel  a  strong  row  of  piling 
blocked  the  entrance.  From  the  extremity  of  this  row 
of  piling  ran  three  rows  of  floating  contact-torpedoes 
planted  in  echelon,  leaving,  however,  an  open  channel 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR   CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  59 

about  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  yards  wide  close  to 
Mobile  Point.  The  Confederate  engineers  urged  the 
closing  of  the  entire  channel  with  torpedoes,  but  their 
recommendations  were  disapproved,  as  it  was  deemed 
essential  by  the  district  commander  that  a  free  passage 
be  left  for  Confederate  vessels.  The  eastern  extremity 
of  the  line  of  torpedoes  was  marked  by  a  red  buoy. 
Torpedoes  were  also  planted  in  front  of  Powell.  Float- 
ing torpedoes  only  could  be  stationed  in  the  Morgan 
channel,  on  account  of  its  depth,  fifty  feet  and  up- 
wards. 

In  the  upper  bay  and  commanding  the  approaches 
by  water  to  the  city  were  formidable  batteries, — two  or 
three  of  them  floating-batteries,  also  four  shore-bat- 
teries. The  approaches  to  the  channel  batteries  were 
obstructed  by  rows  of  piling  and  groups  and  lines  of 
torpedoes. 

The  fortifications  on  the  east  side  of  the  bay  were 
not  completed  until  after  the  fall  of  Gaines  and 
Morgan. 

In  addition  to  the  forts  and  batteries,  the  Confed- 
erates had  a  small,  though  by  no  means  insignificant, 
naval  force  in  the  lower  bay,  composed  of  the  ram 
"  Tennessee"  and  three  smaller  steamers,  the  "  Gaines," 
"  Morgan,"  and  "  Selma," — the  three  steamers  unar- 
mored  excepting  some  protection  around  the  boilers, 
carrying,  altogether,  sixteen  guns  of  large  calibre. 
There  were  other  gunboats  in  the  upper  bay,  but  they 
did  not  appear  on  the  scene  of  action  in  1864 ;  possibly 
they  were  not  in  condition  to  do  so.  The  "  Tennessee" 
was  two  hundred  and  nine  feet  long,  forty-eight  feet 
beam,  and  of    fourteen   feet  draught.     Her  deck  was 


60  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

covered  with  wrought-iron  plates  two  inches  thick,  and 
the  sides  of  the  vessel  were  protected  against  ramming 
by  an  overhang  extending  six  feet  below  the  water-line, 
and  backed  so  as  to  present  eight  feet  of  solid  material 
at  the  sides.  She  was  provided  with  a  strong  iron- 
plated  prow  to  serve  as  a  ram.  The  casemate  was 
strong,  seventy-nine  feet  long  by  twenty-nine  in 
breadth,  its  sides  and  faces  inclined  at  angles  of  forty- 
five  degrees  with  the  horizontal,  and  covered  forward 
with  six  inches,  and  abaft  and  on  the  sides  with  five 
inches,  of  wrought-iron  plating,  the  armor  plating 
backed  with  twenty-two  and  one-half  inches  of  solid 
timber.  Her  armament  consisted  of  two  7  i -inch 
and  four  6-inch  Brooke  rifles,  throwing,  respectively, 
solid  shot  of  one  hundred  and  ten  and  ninety-five 
pounds.  Although  moving  at  a  low  rate  of  speed,  due 
to  inadequate  machinery,  and  hampered  by  several  me- 
chanical drawbacks,  she  was  a  formidable  engine  for 
destruction.  She  was  moved  from  Mobile  to  Fort 
Morgan  about  the  middle  of  May,  having  to  be  assisted 
over  Dog  River  bar  by  means  of  camels.  It  was  the 
intention  to  move  out  with  the  ram  and  attack  the 
Union  fleet,  which  had  not  up  to  that  time  been  rein- 
forced by  the  monitors,  but  the  plan  was  not  carried 
out. 

Farragut,  in  the  latter  part  of  February,  bombarded 
Fort  Powell  from  Mississippi  Sound  with  the  guns  of  his 
light-draught  vessels,  but  made  no  impression  upon  it. 

The  troops  that  were  to  take  part  in  the  attack 
upon  Fort  Gaines  consisted  of  the  Thirty-fourth  Iowa, 
Ninety-sixth  Ohio,  Seventy-seventh  Illinois,  Ninety- 
sixth  Colored  Infantry,  the  Third  Maryland  Cavalry 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR    CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  Q,\ 

(dismounted),  and  some  artillery;  in  all  about  eigh- 
teen hundred  men,  under  command  of  General  Gordon 
Granger.  They  were  trans^^orted  by  water  from  New 
Orleans  through  Mississippi  Sound,  and  landed  on  the 
3d  of  August  at  the  westerly  extremity  of  Dauphin 
Island,  about  nine  miles  from  Fort  Gaines.  The  woods 
in  the  direction  of  the  fort  were  shelled  by  a  gunboat. 
The  following  morning  the  command  moved  forward 
and  invested  the  fort.  Batteries  were  established  at 
about  two  thousand  two  hundred  yards  from  the  enemy 
and  a  line  of  intrenchment  across  the  island  commenced. 
By  the  6th  two  30-pounder  Parrots  and  four  3-inch 
rifles  were  in  position,  and  works  had  been  constructed 
for  more,  but  further  operations  by  the  troops  were  ren- 
dered unnecessary  by  those  of  the  navy,  to  which  we 
must  now  refer. 

The  arrangement  between  Admiral  Farragut  and 
General  Granger  was  that  the  troops  should  be  in  posi- 
tion before  Fort  Gaines  on  the  4th,  and  that  the  fleet 
should  pass  Fort  Morgan  on  the  morning  of  the  same 
day.  In  spite,  however,  of  all  the  efforts  of  the  admi 
ral  and  his  ofiicers,  the  fleet  was  not  ready  at  the  time 
appointed,  one  of  the  monitors,  the  "Tecumseh,"  having 
been  unavoidably  delayed  until  the  night  of  the  4th. 
The  next  morning,  the  ever  memorable  5th  of  August, 
was  to  witness  a  naval  battle  which  for  stern,  hard 
fighting  and  for  loftiness  and  tenacity  of  purpose  on  the 
part  of  both  Union  and  Confederate  sailors  has  never 
been  excelled,  if  it  has  been  equalled,  in  the  world's 
history.  The  admiral  was  fully  informed,  through 
reconnoissances  of  his  own  officers,  and  from  informa- 
tion derived  from  other  sources,  of  the  character  of  the 


62  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

submarine  mines  bordering  the  narrow  channel  through 
which  he  must  force  his  way,  the  slightest  deviation 
from  which  would,  in  all  probability,  cause  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  ship  so  deviating.  He  wished  to  avail  him- 
self of  the  flood-tide,  which,  in  Mobile  Bay,  unless 
affected  by  winds,  generally  attains  a  height  of  about 
fifteen  inches,  and  a  westerly  wind,  for  the  attack.  The 
former  to  assist  in  taking  his  ships  into  the  bay  under 
any  adverse  circumstances,  and  the  latter  to  blow  the 
smoke  away  from  his  ships  and  towards  the  fort.  Both 
conspired  in  his  favor.  His  plan  was  to  keep  as  close 
as  possible  to  the  fort  and  away  from  the  torpedoes, 
drive  the  gunners  from  their  guns  by  showers  of  grape 
and  canister,  engaging  the  fort  on  the  way,  but  to  reach 
the  bay  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  in  order  to  destroy 
the  Confederate  fleet.  The  reduction  of  the  forts  would 
then  be  effected  by  both  army  and  navy. 

The  Union  fleet  consisted  of  four  monitors  and  four- 
teen wooden  ships.  The  "  Tecumseh,"  the  leading  mon- 
itor, and  the  monitor  "  Manhattan,"  had  single  turrets, 
covered  with  ten  inches  of  armor,  each  carrying  two 
15-inch  guns ;  while  the  monitors  "  Chickasaw"  and 
"  Winnebago"  were  double-turreted,  with  armor  eight 
and  one-half  inches  in  thickness,  each  monitor  carrying 
four  11-inch  guns.  The  wooden  ships  carried  in  all 
one  hundred  and  forty-seven  guns,  ranging  from  11-inch 
smooth-bores  down  to  20-pounder  rifles.  None  of  the 
vessels  were  calculated  for  grappling  with  such  an  engine 
of  destruction  as  the  "  Tennessee"  was. 

About  half-past  five  the  fleet  got  fairly  under  way, 
and  steamed  for  the  fort  in  two  columns.  The  wooden 
ships,  lashed  in  couples,  formed  the  port  colunni,  the 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR   CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  53 

lighter  vessels  on  the  port  side  of  the  hirger  ones,  so  as 
to  act,  in  case  the  latter  were  disabled,  as  tugs  to  move 
them  forward,  while  at  the  same  time  the  larger  vessels 
protected  the  smaller.  The  monitors  nearest  the  fort 
formed  the  starboard  column,  the  leading  monitor  nearly 
abreast  the  head  of  the  port  column.  As  the  fleet  neared 
the  bay  the  Confederate  vessels  "  Tennessee,"  "  Gaines," 
"  Selma,"  and  "  Morgan"  formed  line  of  battle  inside  the 
line  of  torpedoes,  so  that  the  Union  fleet  had  guns  in 
front  and  to  the  right,  and  obstructions  to  the  left. 

About  half-past  six  o'clock  the  "  Tecumseh"  fired  two 
shots  at  the  fort,  and  about  seven  o'clock  the  action 
became  general.  The  *'  Tecumseh,"  after  firing  the  two 
shots,  moved  steadily  on,  making  for  the  "  Tennessee," 
which  now  shifted  from  her  position  near  the  fort  to  the 
other  side  of  the  red  buoy.  The  "  Tecumseh,"  still  point- 
ing for  her,  was  sunk  by  a  torpedo.  Plunging  beneath 
the  waves,  she  carried  down  to  death  her  heroic  com- 
mander. Craven,  and  about  one  hundred  of  her  crew. 
The  columns  moved  on,  however,  and  were  soon  in 
danger  of  entanglement  in  the  narrow  channel;  but 
Farragut  dashed  ahead,  over  the  torpedoes,  hone  of 
which  exploded.  It  is  probable  that  many  of  the 
torpedoes,  having  been  in  position  a  long  time,  were 
water-soaked. 

The  fleet  entered  the  bay,  having  sufiered  consider- 
ably in  passing  the  fort,  only  to  enter  upon  a  more  ter- 
rible conflict.  The  ram  "  Tennessee,"  aided  by  the 
other  Confederate  vessels,  dashed  at  the  Union  fleet, 
and  a  tremendous  combat,  ramming  and  cannonading 
at  short  range,  ensued.  At  times  the  guns  were  fired 
within  close  pistol-shot  at  the  "  Tennessee,"  producing 


64  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

little  effect  upon  her  armor,  and  only  after  a  protracted 
and  obstinate  conflict  did  she  surrender.  One  15-inch 
shot  from  the  "  Manhattan"  penetrated  her  casemate 
wall.  Her  steering-chains  had  been  shot  away,  her 
commander  wounded,  and  a  number  of  the  crew  killed 
and  disabled.  The  "  Selma"  was  captured  by  the 
"  Metacomet,"  the  "  Gaines"  so  injured  that  she  made 
for  Fort  Morgan,  where  she  was  afterwards  burned,  and 
the  "  Morgan"  finally  escaped  to  Mobile,  to  be  employed 
against  the  Union  soldiers  in  the  Spanish  Fort  campaign. 

The  cannonading  sounded  to  us  in  the  trenches  on 
Dauphin  Island  like  one  continuous  roll  of  thunder. 

The  "  Tennessee"  was  undoubtedly  the  most  formid- 
able vessel  of  war  ever  launched  by  the  Confederacy. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  5th  the  monitor  "  Chicka- 
saw," which  had  pounded  at  the  ram  in  the  morning, 
shelled  Fort  Powell  from  the  bay.  As  this  fort  was  not 
prepared  for  resistance  on  that  side,  it  was  abandoned 
and  blown  up  later  in  the  day. 

Fort  Gaines  still  held  out.  Occasional  shots  were 
exchanged  between  it  and  the  besieger's  batteries,  and 
more  or  less  firing  on  the  skirmish  lines  kept  up.  The 
heavy  shot  from  the  fort  were  all,  so  far  as  I  observed, 
solid  and  without  any  particular  effect.  On  the  6th  the 
"  Chickasaw"  threw  shells  at  Gaines,  which,  on  the  8th, 
surrendered  to  the  navy.  The  garrison,  between  eight 
hundred  and  nine  hundred  in  number,  marched  out  and 
stacked  arms,  while  their  officers,  in  line  and  in  front  of 
the  men,  surrendered  their  swords  to  an  officer  of  the 
navy  appointed  to  receive  them.  The  Confederate  flag 
was  hauled  down,  and  the  stars  and  stripes  floated  in  its 
stead.    Longer  defence  of  the  fort  would  have  been  use- 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR    CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  65 

less.  While  provided  with  casemates  and  some  attempts 
at  bomb-proofs,  it  could  not  have  withstood  shelling 
from  the  navy,  added  to  the  fire  of  guns  that  could 
have  been  brought  to  bear  by  the  investing  forces. 
The  terre-plein  of  the  fort  was  too  narrow  to  admit  of 
parados;  there  were  no  traverses,  and  a  great  part  of 
the  parapet  could  be  seen  in  reverse  by  light  and  siege 
guns.  Among  the  garrison  were  many  boys,  whose 
very  youthful  appearance  justified  the  remark  attributed 
to  the  commander  of  the  fort,  that  he  felt  responsible 
for  a  number  of  children. 

The  bay  now  being  clear  of  the  Confederate  fleet, 
Granger's  forces,  increased  by  the  Thirty-eighth  Iowa, 
Ninety-fourth  Illinois,  and  Twentieth  Wisconsin  Infan- 
try, crossed  from  Dauphin  Island  to  Navy  Cove,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  bay  and  about  four  miles  from  Fort 
Morgan.  General  Paige,  formerly  an  ofiicer  of  the 
navy,  commanding  this  fort,  committed  the  hospital  and 
other  buildings  outside  it  to  the  flames.  The  greater 
part  of  the  troops  moved  to  within  two  miles  of  Morgan. 
Reconnoissances  by  the  engineers  discovered  a  line  of 
earthworks  distant  about  fourteen  hundred  yards  from 
the  fort,  which  had  evidently  been  thrown  up  a  year  or 
two  previously  to  serve  as  a  first  line  of  defence,  and 
then  abandoned.  This  line  was  utilized  as  a  first  paral- 
lel in  part  by  cutting  it  down  or  filling  in,  as  required. 
A  second  parallel  was  soon  established  about  eight  hun- 
dred yards  in  front  of  the  first.  Along  the  north  or  bay 
side  of  Mobile  Point  was  a  range  of  sand-hills,  forming 
a  sort  of  covered  way  for  the  transportation  of  our  heavy 
artillery  from  the  landing  at  Navy  Cove.  By  the  even- 
ing of  August  21  there  were  in  position  in  the  batteries 


QQ  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

tweuty-five  guns,  mostly  siege-pieces,  but  including  in 
the  number  a  naval  battery  of  9-incli  Dahlgrens,  under 
Lieutenant-Commander  Tyson.  In  addition  to  the  guns 
were  sixteen  siege-mortars,  manned  by  a  company  of 
regular  artillery  under  Lieutenant  Rawles,  and  by  de- 
tachments from  the  Thirty-eighth  Iowa.  The  engineer 
officers  had  obtained  the  range  for  each  battery.  The 
guns,  excepting  those  of  the  naval  battery,  were  mostly 
manned  by  the  First  Indiana  Heavy  Artillery.  The 
chief  of  artillery  was  General  Richard  Arnold. 

On  the  22d  of  August,  at  break  of  day,  a  gun  from 
the  fleet  signalled  the  opening  of  the  bombardment, 
which  was  kept  up  by  the  army  and  the  fleet  through- 
out the  day,  the  guns  of  the  captured  "  Tennessee"  also 
joining  in  the  bombardment.  The  garrison  had,  pre- 
viously to  the  22d,  vigorously  shelled  the  besiegers  at 
times  with  its  Brooke  rifles  and  the  Whitworth  gun 
especially,  and  had  occasionally  employed  grape.  On 
one  night  in  particular  grape  rapidly  followed  solid  shot. 
As  the  solid  shot  struck  or  passed  over  the  parapet  the 
men  in  the  trenches  Avould  rise  to  pursue  their  work,  to 
be  caught  by  the  grape  a  few  seconds  afterwards.  Two 
or  three  of  these  combination  shots,  however,  taught 
the  men  to  lie  low.  But  the  garrison,  after  the  open- 
ins:  of  the  general  bombardment,  remained  inert.  Our 
skirmishers  crawled  up  to  the  very  crest  of  the  glacis, 
firing  into  the  loop-holes  and  grazing  the  parapet  with 
bullets,  so  as  to  prevent  the  gunners  from  manning  the 
barbette  guns.  The  garrison  did  not  even  attempt  much 
of  an  infantry  fire. 

About  half-past  nine  at  night  a  fire  broke  out  in 
the  interior  of  the  fort,  and  our  firing  was  immediately 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR    CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  67 

increased,  in  order  to  prevent  the  garrison  from  ex- 
tinguishing the  flames.  The  conflagration  continued 
throughout  the  night,  threatening  the  magazines.  The 
next  morning,  about  six  o'clock,  a  white  flag  was  dis- 
played on  the  fort.  The  army  and  navy  had  been 
watching  for  such  a  flag,  and  the  moment  it  was  seen 
a  race  commenced  between  the  little  steamer  "  Laura," 
General  Granger's  headquarters  boat,  and  a  small  boat 
from  the  navy.  The  "  Laura"  outstripped  her  competi- 
tor and  reached  the  fort  first. 

The  Twentieth  Wisconsin  and  Thirty-fourth  Iowa 
represented  the  army  in  receiving  the  surrender. 

The  losses  of  the  garrison  were  between  forty  and 
fifty  in  killed  and  wounded,  and  more  than  five  hundred 
in  prisoners. 

The  masonry  scarps  of  the  fort  were  considerably 
defaced  by  the  projectiles  of  the  30-pounder  Parrots,  as 
well  as  by  those  of  the  Dahlgrens,  while  the  siege-mor- 
tars of  the  troops  and  the  heavy  guns  of  the  fleet  exca- 
vated deep  holes,  and  ploughed  long  furrows  in  the  glacis 
and  earth  parapets.  A  15-inch  shell  from  a  monitor 
penetrated  the  wall  of  a  casemate,  making  a  hole  that 
required,  as  I  was  told,  seven  thousand  brick  in  order 
to  fill  it  up.  A  number  of  the  enemy's  guns  were 
broken  or  otherwise  rendered  unserviceable  by  our 
projectiles. 

Fort  Morgan  sufiered  in  plan  from  about  the  same 
defects  that  Fort  Gaines  did. 

The  first  of  the  garrison  whom  I  encountered  was  a 
former  classmate,  who  spoke  in  terms  of  disapprobation 
of  the  conduct  of  his  commander,  Paige,  in  permitting 
the  destruction  of  munitions  of  war  at  the  time  the 


gg  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

white  flag  was  displayed.  Another  officer  referred 
with  pride  to  the  Whitworth  gun,  saying  it  was  a 
present  from  some  of  their  English  friends. 

General  Paige's  conduct  in  the  matter  of  the  de- 
struction of  war-material  was  made  the  subject  of 
inquiry  by  a  court  or  commission,  of  which  Generals 
Hurlburt  and  J.  H.  Totten,  and  Commodore  Franklin, 
I  think,  were  members.  The  commission  proceeded 
on  the  "  Laura"  from  New  Orleans  to  Fort  Morgan, 
taking  with  them  General  Paige  and  an  officer  of  his 
staffi  I,  with  one  or  two  other  officers,  accompanied 
them  to  Fort  Morgan,  whence  I  immediately  crossed 
to  Fort  Gaines,  in  order  to  carry  out  certain  instruc- 
tions in  regard  to  that  fort. 

I  never  heard  what  was  the  outcome  of  the  Paige 
inquiry,  but  he  was  undoubtedly  exonerated.  It  is 
most  probable  that  danger  to  the  magazines  from  the 
still  burning  wood-work  was  the  general's  justification 
for  throwing  the  powder  into  cisterns. 

During  this  trip  of  the  "  Laura,"  which  took  the 
outside  passage,  a  steamer  was  descried  in  the  distance, 
and  some  remark  was  made  as  to  the  possibility  of  its 
being  a  Confederate  cruiser.  I  remember  the  interest 
manifested  by  Paige,  and  that  a  short  discussion  ensued 
between  him  and  some  of  the  party  upon  a  question 
propounded  by  himself  as  to  what  his  status  would  be 
in  case  we  were  captured.  Some  of  us  thought  that  our 
own  status  in  such  a  contingency  would  be  a  matter  of 
considerable  interest  to  us. 

Great  consternation  ensued  in  Mobile  in  consequence 
of  the  destruction  of  the  Confederate  fleet.  Many  of 
its  defenders  had  been  drawn  off  to  oppose  A.  J.  Smith, 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR   CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  QQ 

who  was  south  of  Memphis.  If  ten  thousand  Union 
troops  had  been  available  at  that  moment  they  could 
have  marched  up  the  west  sliore  of  the  bay  into  the 
city.  The  Confederates,  however,  soon  received  rein- 
forcements. By  the  next  spring  they  were  in  readiness 
to  give  the  Union  troops  a  warm  reception. 

Immediately  after  the  surrender  of  Morgan  a  force 
of  several  regiments  was  landed  at  Cedar  Point,  oppo- 
site Fort  Powell,  to  construct  a  landing  and  secure  a 
base  for  an  advance  upon  Mobile.  General  George  H. 
Gordon  commanded  this  force.  General  Granger  went 
to  New  Orleans  to  endeavor  to  obtain  troops  for  an  ad- 
vance. The  position  at  Cedar  Point  was  intrenched. 
The  troops  suffered  severely  from  sickness.  The  pro- 
jected movement  against  the  city  fell  through,  as  troops 
could  not  be  spared  for  it. 

General  Granger  fixed  his  headquarters  at  Dauphin 
Island.  Some  of  the  men  built  a  slight  wharf,  to  which 
was  attached  a  sign-board  bearing  the  words  "  Farra- 
gut's  Landing."  The  admiral  made  a  number  of  visits 
to  the  island,  recreating  by  horseback-riding  with  Gen- 
eral Granger,  in  which  he  appeared  as  much  at  home 
as  though  aboard  ship. 

In  the  latter  part  of  November  General  J.  W.  Da- 
vidson, with  a  force  of  about  four  thousand  men,  set 
out  from  Baton  Bouge  to  cut  rebel  communications 
with  Mobile.  He  was  compelled,  however,  by  the 
condition  of  the  roads,  to  turn  towards  the  Gulf,  fol- 
lowed by  a  force  of  the  enemy.  Beaching  West  Pasca- 
goula  December  12,  he  proceeded  to  embark  his  troops. 
On  the  13th  our  forces  from  Pensacola  cut  the  Mobile 
and  Great  Northern  Bailroad.     This  raid  and  others 


70  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STBUGGLE. 

left  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  as  the  only  unbroken  road 
leading  from  Mobile  for  any  considerable  distance 
northward.  About  the  same  time  General  Granger, 
with  three  thousand  men,  landed  at  East  Pascagoula, 
and  threatened  Mobile  from  that  point.  He  covered 
Davidson's  embarkation,  and  finally,  in  February,  re- 
turned to  Mobile  Bay. 

In  February,  1865,  preparations  were  in  progress  for 
a  decisive  stroke  at  Mobile.  The  troops  detailed  for 
this  campaign  were  the  Thirteenth  Army  Corps,  to 
rendezvous  at  Mobile  Point ;  a  column  to  rendezvous 
at  Pensacola,  under  command  of  Major-General  Fred- 
erick Steele,  an  ofificer  of  ability  ;  and  the  Sixteenth 
Army  Corps,  to  assemble  at  Dauphin  Island.  The 
Thirteenth  Corps  was  commanded  by  Major-General 
Gordon  Granger,  an  ofiicer  of  courage  and  energy,  who 
had  won  distinction  by  opportunely  marching  his  com- 
mand to  the  assistance  of  Thomas  at  Chickamauga, 
without  waiting  orders  to  do  so.  A.  J.  Smith's  com- 
mand, subsequently  reorganized  into  the  Sixteenth 
Army  Corps,  fresh  from  the  battle-field  of  Nashville 
and  pursuit  of  Hood,  was  at  Eastport,  Mississippi,  in 
February,  unable  to  proceed  farther  south  with  heavy 
trains  on  account  of  the  condition  of  the  roads.  General 
Grant  ordered  this  command  to  report  to  Canby.  The 
command  moved  in  steamboats  down  the  Tennessee, 
Ohio,  and  Mississippi  Rivers  to  New  Orleans,  a  few  of 
the  regiments  encamping  on  Jackson's  battle-ground  ; 
thence,  reorganized,  the  Sixteenth  proceeded  to  Dauphin 
Island,  whence  it  was  shortly  afterwards  transported  by 
steamers  across  Mobile  Bay  to  Danley's  Ferry,  on  Fish 
Biver,  about  twenty  miles  from  Spanish  Fort. 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR   CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  7I 

Major-General  A.  J.  Smith,  commanding  the  Six- 
teenth Cor23s,  had  won  distinction  for  services  on  the 
Red  River  expedition  in  addition  to  laurels  won  at 
Tupelo  and  Nashville. 

The  divisions  of  the  corps  were  commanded  by  Gen- 
erals E.  A.  Carr,  Kenner  Garrard,  and  J.  McArthur. 
Some  cavalry  and  artillery  were  also  assigned  to  the 
corps.  To  McArthur's  division  was  attached  an  effi- 
cient company  of  pioneers,  commanded  by  Captain  D. 
W.  Wellman,  of  Saint  Paul,  Minnesota. 

Among  the  regiments  in  the  Sixteenth  Corps  were 
the  Fifth,  Sixth,  Seventh,  Ninth,  and  Tenth  Minnesota. 

Steele's  column  consisted  of  Hawkins's  division  of 
colored  troops,  Lucas's  cavalry  brigade,  and  General  C. 
C.  Andrews's  division,  detached  from  the  Thirteenth 
Army  Corps. 

A  siege-train  was  organized  at  Fort  Gaines,  and  a 
pontoon-train  was  in  readiness  at  Fort  Morgan. 

The  total  strength  of  the  land  forces  under  General 
Canby  was  about  forty-five  thousand  men. 

A  strong  naval  force,  under  Rear- Admiral  H.  K. 
Thatcher,  was  to  operate  in  the  upper  bay. 

It  was  decided  to  attack  the  city  by  way  of  the  east 
shore  of  the  bay  by  reducing  Spanish  Fort  and  Blakely, 
thus  avoiding  the  more  formidable  lines  to  the  west  of 
the  city.  Blakely  is  on  the  Appalachee  River,  and  di- 
rectly opposite  the  head  of  the  Tensas,  a  branch  of  the 
Appalachee  discharging  into  Mobile  Bay.  The  Appala- 
chee continues  past  Blakely  for  a  couple  of  miles,  where 
it  is  divided  by  a  triangular  piece  of  marshy  ground, 
the  western  channel  keeping  the  name  Appalachee,  and 
the  eastern  taking  the  name  of  Blakely  River.     West 


72  GLIMPSES    OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

of  the  Tensas,  the  Spanish  E-iver  discharges  into  the 
bay,  branching  off  from  the  Alabama  about  eight  miles 
above  Mobile.  The  whole  area  through  which  these 
streams  debouch  is  a  delta,  and  so  configured  that 
steamers  could  maintain  communication  between  Mobile 
and  the  eastern  shore  under  cover  of  the  forts  in  the 
upper  bay.  Spanish  Fort,  it  is  believed,  took  its  name 
from  an  old  fort  built  by  De  Soto.  The  whole  region 
was  historic  ground.  Andrew  Jackson  traversed  it  in 
1814.  Fort  Morgan  occupied  the  site  of  old  Fort 
Bowyer,  which  beat  off  a  British  land  and  naval  attack 
also,  in  1814. 

The  fortifications  of  Blakely  and  Spanish  Fort  were 
for  the  purpose  of  threatening  hostile  columns  advancing 
upon  Mobile  from  Morgan,  Pensacola,  or  from  other 
points  to  the  east  of  them,  as  well  as  to  protect  Forts 
Tracy  and  Huger,  which  guarded  entrance  to  the  Appa- 
lachee,  against  bombardment  from  the  east  shore,  though 
neither  fortification  could,  unaided,  have  prevented  bom- 
bardment at  the  hands  of  a  powerful  force.  Fort  Huger 
mounted  nine  and  Tracy  five  guns  of  large  calibre. 
The  channels  immediately  under  the  guns  of  these  forts 
were  closed  by  seven  to  ten  rows  of  piling,  and  torpe- 
does were  closely  planted  in  the  channels. 

Spanish  Fort,  on  high  ground,  rested  its  right  flank 
on  the  Blakely  River  and  its  left  on  Minette  Bay, 
and  mounted  forty  pieces  of  artillery,  including  Colum- 
biads,  rifles,  siege-  and  field-pieces,  and  Coehorn  mor- 
tars. Its  parapet  had  a  development  of  two  miles.  The 
fort  was  commanded  by  Brigadier-General  K.  L.  Gib- 
son, and  garrisoned  by  two  thousand  eight  hundred  men. 

The  fortifications  at  Blakely  were  two  and  one-half 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR    CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  73 

miles  long,  mounting  between  forty  and  fifty  jDieces  of 
artillery,  mostly  field-  and  siege-guns,  and  garrisoned 
by  three  thousand  four  hundred  men,  commanded  by 
Brigadier-General  St.  John  Lidell. 

The  land-approaches  to  both  were  defended  by  abatis, 
chevaux-de-frise,  and  land  torpedoes,  or  sub-terra  shells, 
as  the  Confederates  styled  them. 

I  was  directed  to  reconnoitre  the  country  from  Fort 
Morgan  towards  Fish  River.  Knowles's  (formerly 
Earle's)  scouts,  a  body  of  men  selected  from  the  Fourth 
Wisconsin  Cavalry,  were  also  to  go  out  in  the  same 
direction,  and  I  was  armed  with  authority  to  call  upon 
their  commander  for  any  needed  assistance.  On  my 
way  back  I  met  the  Thirteenth  Army  Corps  en  route 
for  Fish  Kiver,  General  Granger  in  command,  riding  at 
the  head  of  his  staff.  I  informed  him  as  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  country  and  the  liability  of  the  roads — good 
when  dry — to  become  impassable  after  heavy  rain. 

At  Dauphin  Island  were  Generals  W.  F.  Smith,  C. 
B.  Comstock  of  General  Grant's  staff,  and  General  P. 
J.  Osterhaus,  who  served  during  the  campaign  about 
to  open  as  chief  of  staff  to  General  Canby.  General 
Comstock  accompanied  the  army  to  Spanish  Fort  and 
Blakely. 

About  the  22d  of  March  Canby  and  staff  left  Dau- 
phin Island  for  Danley's  Ferry,  where  the  Sixteenth 
Corps  was  intrenched.  A  brigade  from  the  Sixteenth 
about  the  same  time  moved  up  the  west  shore  of  Mobile 
Bay  to  make  a  diversion  towards  Mobile.  It  rejoined 
near  Fish  Biver. 

The  Thirteenth  Corps,  after  a  toilsome  march  around 
Bon  Secours  Bay,  reached  Fish  Biver,  which  it  crossed 


74  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

on  pontoons.  Its  route  lay  over  roads  rendered  almost 
bottomless  by  the  rain,  which  set  in  shortly  after  the 
corps  had  started.  The  artillery  and  wagons  sank  in 
the  mud  to  the  axles.  The  train  was  annoyed  by  attacks 
of  a  small  body  of  rebel  cavalry. 

At  Fish  River  I  was  ordered  to  report  to  General 
A.  J.  Smith  for  duty  as  acting  chief  engineer  of  the 
Sixteenth  Army  Corps. 

The  Thirteenth  and  Sixteenth  Corps  moved  on  the 
25th  for  Spanish  Fort,  the  former  making  for  D'Olive's 
Creek,  the  latter  keeping  roads  which  brought  it  to 
Sibley's  Mills,  about  four  miles  from  Spanish  Fort, 
some  time  during  the  26th.  The  advance  was  con- 
stantly disputed  by  tlie  enemy,  generally  with  a  small 
force  of  cavalry.  The  enemy,  knowing  the  country, 
avoided  close  quarters,  but  from  every  advantageous 
position  poured  in  a  fire,  causing  upon  several  occasions 
the  deployment  of  our  leading  regiments.  During  one 
of  the  skirmishes  my  attention  was  attracted  to  a  Union 
officer  sitting  his  horse  unconcernedly  in  front  of  his 
brig-ade.  A  minute  or  two  afterwards  I  missed  him, 
and  upon  inquiry  was  told  he  had  been  hit  in  the  neck 
by  a  bullet.  Thirteen  years  afterwards  I  met  this 
officer  on  Third  Street  in  this  city,  and  asked  him  if  he 
had  not  been  wounded  in  the  skirmish  of  Deer  Park. 
He  replied  that  he  did  not  recall  the  name  of  the 
locality,  but,  pulling  down  his  collar,  showed  the  mark 
of  the  bullet.  The  officer  was  W.  R.  Marshall,  after- 
wards Governor  of  Minnesota. 

On  the  27th  the  Thirteenth  and  two  divisions  of  the 
Sixteenth  Cor^^s  moved  into  position  in  front  of  Spanish 
Fort,  the  Second  Division  of  the  Sixteenth,  Garrard's, 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR    CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  75 

being  left  at  Sibley's  Mills,  where  a  tete-de-pont  had 
been  erected  at  Bayou  Minette  to  cover  the  rear  and 
guard  the  trains. 

As  Carr's  division  moved  from  Sibley's  the  advance 
was  saluted  by  a  sharp  fire  from  a  regiment  of  infantry, 
the  Twenty-first  Alabama,  posted  on  the  farther  side 
of  the  bayou,  from  which  General  Smith  had  a  narrow 
escape.  Leaving  a  regiment  at  this  point  to  engage 
the  Alabama  men,  the  division  proceeded  on,  the  pio- 
neers removing  trees  that  had  been  felled  across  the 
roads  to  delay  the  advance,  until  the  woods  in  front  of 
Spanish  Fort  were  reached.  A  countryman  had  been 
pressed  into  service  as  a  guide;  mounted  on  the  sorriest 
of  horses,  he  presented  a  most  forlorn  and,  at  the  same 
time,  laughable  spectacle,  surrounded  by  the  staffs  and 
orderlies  of  Smith  and  Carr.  As  the  Sixteenth  neared 
the  rebel  works  shells  were  thrown  from  the  latter, 
directed  by  the  cheering  of  our  soldiers. 

Carr's  division  formed  the  right  of  the  Sixteenth  in 
front  of  Spanish  Fort,  and  McArthur's  the  left.  This 
latter  formed  opposite  the  Ked  Fort,  one  of  the  rebel 
salients.  The  Thirteenth  Corps  formed  on  the  left  of 
the  Sixteenth. 

The  Confederate  General  Lidell  had  determined 
upon  meeting  the  advance  of  the  Thirteenth  Corps  in 
the  field,  and  had  formed  line  on  the  high  ground 
north  of  D'Olive's  Creek  for  that  purpose.  The  creek 
discharges  into  Blakely  River  just  south  of  the  point 
where  the  right  flank  of  Spanish  Fort  rested.  The 
approach  of  the  Sixteenth,  however,  on  the  right 
of  Granger  forced  Lidell  to  abandon  the  plan,  and 
his    troops   accordingly   fell    back    to    Spanish    Fort 


76  GLIMPSES    OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

and   Blakely,  which   they  defended  as  became  brave 


men. 


Shortly  after  arriving  in  front  of  the  fort,  and  after 
the  works  had  been  reconnoitred,  General  Smith  di- 
rected me  to  ride  to  General  Canby's  headquarters, 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  distant,  and  request  permission 
for  an  immediate  assault  by  the  Sixteentli  Corps  upon 
the  rebel  works.  General  Canby  promptly  refused 
permission.  I  had  proceeded  but  a  short  distance 
upon  my  return  when  an  orderly  overtook  me  saying 
that  General  Canby  desired  to  go  with  me  to  General 
Smith.  I  rode  back  therefore,  and,  meeting  the  gen- 
eral, conducted  him  to  General  Smith's  camp-fire, 
around  which  some  of  the  staff  had  gathered,  for  a  cold 
drizzling  rain  had  fallen. 

General  Canby  deciding  upon  siege  operations,  a 
depot  of  supplies  and  engineer  materials  was  es- 
tablished at  Stark's  Landing,  on  the  east  side  of  Mo- 
bile Bay,  and  about  five  miles  below  Spanish  Fort,  and 
siege  guns  and  mortars  were  hurried  by  water  from 
Gaines  and  Morgan. 

Steele's  column  left  Pensacola  about  the  20th  of 
March ;  on  the  26th  a  brigade  of  infantry  entered  Pol- 
lard. Up  to  this  time  Steele's  movements  led  to  the 
belief  that  Montgomery  was  his  objective,  but  he  now 
made  dispositions  to  move  to  join  Canby.  His  com- 
mand was  poorly  supplied  with  rations,  with  terrible 
roads  before  it,  and  with  no  prospect  of  replenish- 
ing stores  by  foraging.  General  Canby,  however,  de- 
spatched a  large  train  of  supplies,  guarded  by  Veatch's 
division  of  the  Thirteenth  Corps,  to  relieve  Steele's 
wants;  the  supplies  reached  Steele  about  the  1st  of 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR   CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  77 

April.  As  Veatch's  division  moved  off,  Marshall's 
brigade  of  McArtliur's  division,  Sixteenth  Corps,  was 
detached  to  take  its  place  in  Granger's  line,  but  the 
brigade  subsequently  returned  to  McArthur. 

Steele  reached  Blakely,  having  fought  and  skirmished 
constantly  on  the  march,  and  fairly  invested  it  on  the 
2d  of  April.  His  line,  as  eventually  formed,  was  as  fol- 
lows: Hawkins's  division  on  the  right;  next,  the  bri- 
gades of  Spicely  and  Moore  of  General  C.  C.  Andrews's 
division.  Thirteenth  CorjDS, — Bertram's  brigade  of  An- 
drews's division  forming  the  left  of  Granger's  line  in  front 
of  Spanish  Fort;  next,  Veatch's  division,  also  of  the 
Thirteenth  Corps  ;  all  to  the  right  of  the  Pensacola  road. 

About  the  3d  of  April  Garrard's  division  of  the 
Sixteenth  Corps  moved  from  Sibley's  Mills  and  took 
position  on  the  left  of  Steele  and  opposite  the  right  of 
the  Confederate  works. 

In  front  of  Spanish  Fort  batteries  for  field-  and  siege- 
guns,  mortars,  and  howitzers  were  constructed,  and 
supplied  with  their  armaments  as  rapidly  as  possible; 
the  advance  batteries  were  generally  connected  by  in- 
fantry parapets,  and  beyond  these  were  rifle  trenches 
approached  by  zigzags.  The  men  carried  with  them 
into  the  trenches  wooden  mortars,  substitutes  for  Coe- 
horns,  of  which  many  were  made  by  Captain  Well- 
man's  Pioneers.  Constructed  mostly  of  the  wood  of  the 
sweet-gum,  hooped  or  strapped  with  iron,  they  served 
very  well  to  throw  12-pounder  shells  into  the  enemy's 
trenches.  Although  soldiers  do  not  take  kindly  to  the 
pick  and  shovel,  the  men  worked  diligently.  General 
L.  F.  Hubbard's  brigade  of  McArthur's  division  worked 
up  to  within  sixty  feet  of  the  enemy's  line. 


78  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

The  garrison  made  several  sorties,  capturing  a  num- 
ber of  our  men.  Skirmishing  was  constantly  going  on 
between  the  lines,  with  cannonading  at  intervals.  A 
heavy  gun  in  Fort  McDermett,  on  the  right  of  Spanish 
Fort,  called  by  our  men  Dog  Towser,  was  extremely 
annoying  by  its  fire.  To  enfilade  the  enemy's  lines 
8-inch  howitzers  were  mounted  on  our  extreme  right, 
and  a  number  at  other  points  along  our  front.  Their 
projectiles,  spherical  shells,  were  of  service  in  dis- 
mounting guns  or  in  annoying  the  gunners  serving 
them.  Siege-mortars,  speedily  placed  in  position,  were 
especially  serviceable  in  reaching  ground  that  could 
not  be  touched  by  direct  fire.  The  firing  of  heavy  projec- 
tiles from  Huger  and  Tracy,  and  from  some  of  the  rebel 
gunboats  stationed  near  them,  enfiladed  a  portion  of 
our  right  and  with  fatal  results,  one  shell  killing  and 
wounding  eighteen  men.  To  counter  this  fire  batteries 
were  established  on  the  high  bank,  or  bluff,  of  Minette 
Bay  so  as  to  command  the  forts.  The  batteries  were 
to  mount  four  30-pounder  and  two  100-pounder  Par- 
rots, and  two  lighter  guns,  one  of  them  the  Whit- 
worth  captured  at  Fort  Morgan,  and  the  other  a  small 
steel  rifle.  It  was  the  intention  to  keep  these  batteries 
masked  behind  the  young  trees  growing  at  the  edge  of 
the  bluff  until  the  guns  were  all  in  position,  and  then 
to  open  a  crushing  fire.  But  the  works  being  discov- 
ered, Huger  and  Tracy  opened  upon  them,  and  the 
enemy  placed  a  light  battery  the  following  night  on 
ground  across  Bayou  Minette,  from  which  they  opened 
a  vexatious  enfilading  fire  upon  the  bluff  batteries. 
This  battery  was,  however,  met  by  a  counter-battery 
of  light  guns,  located  near  the  south  bank  of  the  bayou 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR    CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  79 

by    Colonel    John    M.    Wilson    of   General    Canby's 
staff. 

At  anchor  in  Minette  Bay,  a  little  to  the  left  of  the 
bluff  batteries,  was  a  small  one-masted  vessel  with 
hatches  closed.  This  vessel  was  suspected  to  contain 
some  infernal  machine,  and  was,  accordingly,  religiously 
let  alone  by  our  men,  unless  it  was  boarded  after  the 
close  of  operations. 

A  number  of  men  in  Carr's  division  had  been  hit  by 
bullets  coming,  apparently,  from  a  group  of  trees  within 
Spanish  Fort.  One  officer,  a  captain,  belonging,  I  think, 
to  Carr's  division,  was  shot  through  the  heart.  A  bat- 
tery of  field-guns  was  placed,  under  cover  of  a  growth 
of  saplings,  on  a  high  point  across  the  ravine  and  to  the 
right  of  Carr.  These  guns  opened  upon  the  trees,  after 
which  the  fire  of  the  sharpshooters  ceased.  In  conver- 
sation, some  weeks  later,  with  a  Confederate  field-officer 
who  had  been  one  of  the  garrison,  I  learned  that  sharp- 
shooters armed  with  Whitworth  rifles  were  posted  in  the 
group  of  trees  referred  to  until  driven  down  by  the  fire 
of  this  battery.  This  officer  added  that  the  mortar  fire 
gave  them  more  trouble  than  did  that  of  all  the  other 
guns  put  together. 

We  must  now  turn  to  the  navy,  which,  after  the  fall 
of  Gaines,  Morgan,  and  Powell,  remained  in  the  lower 
bay.  The  light  draught  of  water  in  the  upper  half  of 
the  bay,  and  the  presence  of  numerous  torpedoes,  ren- 
dered it  unadvisable  for  the  fleet  to  act  in  that  direction 
until  all  the  measures  for  a  decisive  stroke  at  Mobile 
had  been  completed.  In  order  to  cut  off  supplies  from 
Spanish  Fort  it  was  necessary  to  intercept  water  com- 
munication between  it  and  Mobile.      The   fleet,  com- 


go  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

manded  by  Kear- Admiral  Thatcher,  consisting  of  the 
monitors  "Winnebago"  and  "Chickasaw,"  and  the 
"  Osage,"  "  Milwaukee,"  "  Kickapoo,"  and  "  Octorara," 
the  latter  a  double-ender,  crossed  Dog  Eiver  bar  on  the 
27th  of  March,  and  opened  on  the  enemy's  works  at 
Spanish  Fort  at  long  range.  The  next  day  the  "Win- 
nebago" and  "  Milwaukee"  succeeded  in  throwing  shells 
at  a  Confederate  vessel,  a  transport,  moored  at  the  fort, 
driving  it  off.  The  "  Milwaukee,"  however,  was  sunk 
by  a  torpedo,  as  was  the  "  Osage"  the  next  day ;  and 
the  "  Rodolph,"  a  small  steamer,  was  also  sunk  in  the 
same  manner.  Lieutenant-Commander  Gilliss,  after  the 
sinking  of  his  ship,  the  "  Milwaukee,"  took  command  of 
a  naval  battery  of  30-pounder  Parrots  near  the  centre 
of  the  Sixteenth  Corps,  and  did  good  service.  I  will 
here  remark  that  there  were  eight  Union  vessels,  of  all 
classes,  carrying  in  the  aggregate  twenty-three  guns, 
sunk  by  rebel  torpedoes  in  1864  and  1865  in  Mobile 
Bay  and  Blakely  Hiver. 

On  the  8th  of  April  there  were  in  position  against 
Spanish  Fort,  Huger,  and  Tracy  ninety  pieces  of  artil- 
lery, including  siege-  and  field-pieces  and  mortars.  The 
Minette  Bay  battery,  bearing  on  Huger  and  Tracy, 
mounted  by  this  time  four  30-pounders,  two  100- 
pounders,  and  the  Whitworth  and  steel  rifles.  At  half- 
past  five  o'clock  of  the  afternoon  of  the  8th  a  general 
bombardment  from  all  the  guns  of  the  besiegers,  those 
of  the  bluff  (Minette  Bay)  battery  included,  and  from 
the  naval  vessels  within  range,  commenced,  and  was 
continued  for  about  two  hours,  the  enemy  replying  with 
vigor.  About  seven  or  eight  o'clock  the  Eighth  Iowa, 
having  gallantly  worked  its  way  around  the  extreme 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR   CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  gl 

left  of  the  rebel  line,  after  a  sharp  conflict,  during 
which  it  captured  several  hundred  of  the  enemy,  a 
lodgment  was  effected  on  the  north  side  of  a  ridge 
within  the  rebel  line,  and  running  at  a  right  angle,  or 
nearly  so,  to  it.  On  the  slope  of  the  ridge  I  came 
across  a  wounded  rebel  officer,  who  said  he  was  Captain 
Clarke,  of  Mobile,  that  he  had  charged  at  the  head  of 
the  provost  guard,  and  that  he  was  shot  through  both 
shoulders.  I  caused  him  to  be  carried  off  the  field  and 
cared  for.  The  charge  of  the  provost  guard  and  the 
stubborn  resistance  of  another  force  of  the  enemy  gave 
time  for  the  greater  part  of  the  garrison,  also  pressed 
by  the  men  of  the  Thirteenth  and  Sixteenth  Corps,  to 
escape  over  the  narrow  foot-path  through  the  marsh  to 
Tracy,  from  which  point  most  of  them  eventually 
reached  Mobile.  Towards  midnight  another  charge 
across  the  ridge  was  made  by  our  men,  and  at  midnight 
the  fort  was  in  our  possession.  About  five  hundred 
prisoners  fell  into  our  hands.  The  heavy  guns  of 
McDermett  and  old  Spanish  Fort  were  turned  against 
Huger  and  Tracy,  the  navy  joining  in  the  bombard- 
ment, and  details  of  men  from  both  army  and  navy 
now  swept  scores  of  torpedoes  from  the  channel  in 
front  of  Spanish  Fort. 

General  Steele,  in  the  mean  time,  was  pressing  the 
rebel  works  at  Blakely.  The  approach  was  slow,  on 
account  of  the  strong  fire  from  the  enemy's  works, 
aided  by  that  of  tlie  Confederate  gunboats,  which,  en- 
tering the  Appalachee  by  way  of  the  Tensas,  greatly 
annoyed  the  besiegers.  A  battery  of  30-pounders, 
located  on  the  extreme  right  of  our  line,  finally  forced 
the  boats  to  retire.     By  the  9th  of  April  there  were  in 

6 


g2  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

position  against  the  Blakely  fortifications  eight  bat- 
teries, mounting  twenty-eight  guns,  30-pounders  and 
field-pieces. 

Batteries  had  been  commenced  on  the  shore  of  Min- 
ette  Bay,  about  half  a  mile  north  of  the  bayou,  for 
two  100-pounder  and  eight  30-pounder  Parrots  to  bear 
upon  Huger  and  Tracy.  Four  30-pounders  were  in 
place  in  these  batteries  on  the  9th. 

During  the  morning  of  April  9  General  Garrard, 
whose  tent  was  near  these  Minette  Bay  batteries,  ex- 
plained to  me  his  proposed  assault  for  that  afternoon 
upon  the  enemy's  lines  in  his  front.  He  proposed  to 
move  at  five  o'clock,  the  movement  to  be  begun  by  the 
left  brigade  of  his  division,  and  to  be  taken  up  suc- 
cessively, by  brigade,  to  the  right,  the  men  to  feel  the 
elbow,  and  the  division  to  be  preceded  by  two  lines  of 
skirmishers.  He  further  said  that  he  expected  the 
commanders  of  the  troops  on  the  right  to  co-operate. 
While  riding  past  his  tent  in  the  afternoon  I  was  hailed 
by  the  general,  who  asked  if  I  were  on  my  way  to 
General  Smith's  headquarters.  Upon  my  replying  in 
the  affirmative,  he  requested  me  to  come  into  his  tent, 
where  he  reiterated  the  explanation  of  his  proposed 
assault,  and  desired  me  to  convey  the  information  to 
General  Smith. 

In  returning  to  General  Smith's  headquarters,  which 
were  still  in  front  of  Spanish  Fort,  I  was  obliged  to 
take  a  corduroy  road,  across  boggy  ground,  leading  to 
the  pontoon  bridge  over  Bayou  Minette.  To  have 
been  pushed  off  this  road  into  the  black  mud  at  its 
sides  would  have  been  the  last  of  horse  and  rider.  A 
stream  of  army  wagons  and  other  impedimenta  of  war 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR    CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  83 

were  pouring  across  the  bridge  and  its  approaches  in 
a  direction  contrary  to  that  which  I  was  endeavoring 
to  make.  The  scene  was  enlivened  by  an  occasional 
shell  from  Tracy. 

Upon  receiving  Garrard's  message,  General  Smith 
called  to  his  staff  to  mount.  We  had  proceeded  but  a 
short  distance  towards  Blakely,  when  an  orderly  met 
us  and  announced  the  capture  of  its  defences. 

That  assault,  according  to  all  accounts,  did  not  take 
place  until  about  half-past  five  o'clock,  and  was  nearly 
simultaneous  along  the  whole  of  Steele's  and  Garrard's 
fronts.  Accounts  vary,  also,  as  to  whom  was  due  the 
credit  of  initiating  the  assault.  As  Spanish  Fort  had 
been  captured  the  preceding  night,  leaving  two  divisions 
of  the  Sixteenth  Corps  free  to  move  for  Blakely,  it  is 
not  unlikely  that  both  Steele  and  Garrard  thought  it 
time  for  them  to  go  in,  and  that  the  time  and  manner 
of  the  assault  were  arranged  between  them  during  the 
day. 

About  sixteen  thousand  men  took  part  in  this  as- 
sault, sweeping  everything  before  them,  going  over, 
through,  or  around  abatis,  torpedoes,  and  rifle  in- 
trenchments  into  the  main  works,  where,  in  some 
portions,  the  fighting  was  hand-to-hand,  our  infantry 
using  the  bayonet  and  clubbing  muskets,  and  the  rebel 
artillerymen  wielding  sponge-staffs  and  handspikes. 
The  entire  garrison,  including  three  general  officers 
and  over  forty  pieces  of  artillery,  were  captured. 

Firing  still  continued  between  Tracy  and  Huger  on 
the  one  side,  and  our  batteries  and  the  navy,  which  had 
now  approached  to  within  shelling  distance,  on  the 
other.     On  the  afternoon  of  the  11th  General  Smith 


84  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

determined  to  take  those  forts  by  a  night  assault,  and 
designated  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourteenth  Illinois, 
serving  as  pontoneers,  for  the  undertaking.  The  officer 
in  command  of  the  regiment,  Lieutenant-Colonel  John- 
son, received  the  general's  instructions  in  a  business-like 
manner,  and  proceeded  to  carry  them  out.  About  two 
hours  after  dark  General  Smith  and  staff,  accompanied 
by  a  signal-officer,  proceeded  to  a  point  on  the  north 
of  Minette  Bay  to  get  news  of  the  assault,  when  a 
flash  lighted  up  the  scene,  and  it  was  apparent  that 
Tracy  was  blown  up  by  the  rebels.  It  is  claimed  that 
boats  from  the  navy  reached  those  forts  before  the  men 
of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourteenth  did. 

On  the  12th,  torpedoes  having  been  pretty  thoroughly 
removed,  several  vessels  of  the  fleet  moved  up  Blakely 
River  into  the  Tensas,  thence  to  within  a  mile  of 
Mobile.  General  Granger,  about  the  same  time,  with 
a  strong  force,  moved  across  the  bay,  convoyed  by  a 
number  of  vessels  from  the  navy.  The  Confederate 
General  Maury,  with  about  five  thousand  of  his  troops, 
had  evacuated  the  city.  Mobile  was  again  under  the 
stars  and  stripes.  A  large  number  of  guns  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Union  troops. 

The  subsequent  operations  of  the  campaign  consisted 
in  the  march  of  the  Sixteenth  Corps  to  Montgomery, 
the  transportation  of  part  of  Steele's  command  by 
steamers  to  the  same  point,  and  the  occupation  of 
Selma.  The  Sixteenth  had  proceeded  but  a  short  dis- 
tance when  news  overtook  it  of  the  surrender  of  Lee. 
Our  exultation,  however,  was  soon  changed  to  sorrow 
by  the  report  of  the  assassination  of  Lincoln. 

Soon  after  our  arrival  at  Montgomery  soldiers  from 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR   CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  85 

Joe  Johnston's  army  began  coming  in.  The  men  of 
both  armies  fraternized,  as  a  general  rule,  and  one 
would  not  have  supposed,  from  simply  observing  them, 
that  they  had  ever  been  enemies. 

Some  of  the  streets  were  strewn  with  loose  cotton, 
destroyed  by  the  Confederate  General  Adams,  who  had 
been  pressed  through  Montgomery  by  the  cavalry  of 
the  Union  General  J.  H.  Wilson.  Wilson  crossed  the 
Tennessee  about  the  18th  of  March,  and  on  the  2d 
of  April  captured  Selma  from  Forrest.  On  the  12th 
he  entered  Montgomery,  and  thence  moved  on  into 
Georgia.  His  brilliant  campaign  was  of  great  service 
to  Canby,  by  breaking  up  the  Confederate  forces  north 
of  Mobile. 

By  the  middle  of  May  the  Confederate  troops  in  the 
Gulf  States  had,  generally,  surrendered,  some  of  Kirby 
Smith's  men  excepted.  Early  in  June  an  expedition 
was  organized  to  sail  from  Mobile  for  the  Kio  Grande. 
The  city  had  barely  begun  to  recover  from  the  ejBPects 
of  the  explosion  of  an  immense  quantity  of  powder  and 
fixed  ammunition  which  had  been  surrendered  by  Dick 
Taylor,  an  explosion  which  laid  a  number  of  squares  in 
ruins  and  killed  and  wounded  scores  of  Union  soldiers 
and  sailors,  ex-Confederates,  and  citizens.  I  was  relieved 
from  duty  on  the  fortifications  of  Mobile,  to  which  I  had 
been  assigned  after  leaving  the  Sixteenth  Corps  at  Mont- 
gomery, and  ordered  to  report  to  General  Steele,  com- 
manding the  expedition,  for  duty  as  chief  engineer. 
The  expedition  landed  at  Brazos  Santiago,  Texas,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Bio  Grande,  where  it  was  shortly  after- 
wards joined  by  the  Twenty-fifth  Army  Corps  from 
Virginia.     This  expedition  had  in  view  two  objects : 


36  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

one,  to  look  after  a  remnant  of  Kirby  Smith's  soldiers ; 
the  other,  to  observe  the  Imperialists  in  Mexico. 

The  Confederates  planted  torpedoes  on  the  land-  as 
well  as  the  water-approaches  around  Mobile.  The  for- 
mer, sub-terra  shells,  as  they  called  them,  were  a  source 
of  great  annoyance  to  our  men,  who  never  knew  when 
to  expect  an  explosion  or  where  to  go  to  avoid  one. 
These  torpedoes  were  made  of  12-pounder  shells,  and 
provided  with  mechanism  so  contrived  that  a  step  upon 
them  caused  an  explosion.  They  were  planted  in  ruts 
of  roads,  and  even  in  paths  leading  to  pools  of  water 
where  our  men  would  be  likely  to  go  to  quench  their 
thirst.  They  were  also  thickly  planted  in  front  of 
Spanish  Fort  and  Blakely.  After  the  capture  of  the 
former  I  examined  the  works.  The  torpedoes  in  front 
of  that  fort  were  located  outside  of  the  abatis  and  other 
obstructions,  under  close  musketry  fire,  their  places  being 
marked  by  forked  twigs. 

The  floating  torpedoes  were  of  two  kinds.  One  con- 
sisted of  a  keg  generally  rendered  water-tight  by  a 
coating  of  pitch  inside  and  out,  the  ends  capped  by 
wooden  cones,  which,  with  a  weight  slung  underneath 
the  keg,  kept  it  from  turning  over.  The  keg  was  filled 
with  powder  and  fired  by  any  floating  body  colliding 
with  sensitive  primers  passing  through  its  upper  surface. 
The  other  consisted  of  a  tin  cylinder,  or  of  a  frustum 
of  a  cone,  with  air-chamber  and  magazine.  On  top  was 
a  cast-iron  cap,  which,  upon  being  knocked  off",  fell,  pull- 
ing a  line,  which  in  turn  pulled  a  pin,  thus  releasing  a 
spring,  which  forced  a  needle  or  plunger  against  a  per- 
cussion-cap. The  torpedoes  were  kept  in  place  by  lines 
connecting  them  with  anchors. 


ADDRESS  BY  MAJOR    CHARLES  J.  ALLEN.  §7 

Campaigning  is  not  without  humorous  incidents. 
Volumes  could  be  written  of  the  fun  and  the  quaint 
sayings  in  which  soldiers  indulge  even  under  the  most 
trying  circumstances.  The  order  governing  foraging 
did  not,  apparently,  meet  the  approbation  of  all  the 
soldiers.  General  Canby  had  issued  stringent  orders 
in  this  respect.  No  private  foraging  was  to  be  tolerated. 
The  products  of  the  country  along  the  lines  of  march 
were  to  be  drawn  upon  for  the  use  of  the  army  as  neces- 
sity might  require,  but  they  were  to  be  taken  by  regularly 
organized  foraging-parties  under  responsible  oflScers, 
who  were  to  give  receipts  for  everything  appropriated, 
the  accounts  to  be  afterwards  adjusted  by  the  proper 
officers.  Any  violation  of  these  orders  would  consign 
the  offender  to  the  custody  of  the  provost-marshal.  On 
the  first  day  out  from  Fish  Kiver,  as  I  sat  by  the  road- 
side during  one  of  the  halts,  a  tall  brawny  soldier  ap- 
proached me ;  he  was  barefoot,  his  shoes  suspended  from 
his  belt,  probably  being  reserved  for  occasions  of  cere- 
mony. "  Lieutenant,"  he  said,  "  what  is  this  order 
about  no  foraging  ?  Can't  a  man  forage  ?"  "  No,"  I 
replied;  "orders  forbid  private  foraging."  "Well, 
lieutenant,  can't  I  go  into  a  house  and  help  myself?" 
"  No."  "  Can't  I  even  take  a  chicken  ?"  "  No."  "  Can't 
I  take  anything  ?"  "  No."    "  Well,  then,"  he  exclaimed, 

with  an  expression  of  intense  disgust,  "  what  in  

is  the  use  in  being  a  soldier !" 

The  value  of  Confederate  notes  in  1865  can  be  appre- 
ciated from  the  following.  In  passing  through  a  town, 
on  the  march  to  Montgomery,  several  of  us  rode  up  to 
a  tavern,  where  we  procured  a  fair  meal.  Upon  our 
asking  the  price  the  landlord  charged  ten  dollars  apiece ; 


38  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

tlien,  seeing  our  looks  of  astonishinent,  lie  added,  "  or 
twenty-five  cents  in  silver."  He  meant  ten  dollars  in 
Confederate  notes.  As  we  had  neither  silver  nor  Con- 
federate money  we  each  paid  him  fifty  cents  in  United 
States  currency,  which  he  considered  valueless  but  was 
willing  to  accept  as  a  curiosity. 


EEMINISOENCES 

OP 

GENERAL  U.   S.  GRANT. 

BY  BEBVET  BBIGADIBE-GENEEAL  W.  E.  MAESHALL, 

COLONEL   SEVENTH    MINNESOTA    INFANTRY,    U.    S.    VOLUNTEERS. 


In  April,  1861 ,  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  I  was 
conducting  the  Press  (now  Pioneer  Press)  newspaper 
of  this  city.  I  had  occasion  to  note  daily  all  occur- 
rences of  that  stirring  time.  So  many  of  the  regular 
army  officers  and  educated  military  men  not  in  the 
army  went  with  the  South,  that  wherever  there  was  a 
retired  officer  or  j^rofessional  soldier,  he  was  noted  and 
looked  to  as  available  for  command  in  the  volunteer 
Union  army.  In  Minnesota  there  were,  I  think,  only 
two  such, — General  Horatio  P.  Van  Cleve  and  General 
N.  J.  T.  Dana.  General  Willis  A.  Gorman,  Colonel 
James  George,  and  Colonel  Alexander  Wilkin  had 
served  in  the  Mexican  war,  as  did  Hon.  Edmund  Rice 
and  others,  but  none  of  them  were  educated  to  the  pro- 
fession of  arms.  Colonel  William  Crooks  had  been  at 
West  Point,  but  was  not  a  graduate.  Van  Cleve,  Dana, 
Gorman,  Wilkin,  and  George  were  all  appointed  to 
commands  in  the  First  and  Second  Minnesota  Regi- 
ments, and  Crooks  to  the  Sixth.     In  our  neighboring 

89 


90  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

States  I  can  only  recall  General  Curtis  and  Colonel  J, 
J.  Wood,  of  Iowa,  and  Generals  Charles  S.  Hamilton 
and  T.  H.  Ruger,  of  Wisconsin,  as  professional  soldiers, 
who  at  once  came  to  notice,  and  afterwards  to  high 
command.  In  Illinois  there  was  early  mention  of 
General  David  Hunter.  McClellan,  then  recently  con- 
nected with  the  Illinois  Central  Kailroad,  had  gone  to 
Cincinnati  to  take  charge  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
Railroad,  and  was  appointed  from  Ohio.  Besides  Gen- 
eral Hunter  in  Illinois,  I  remember  somewhat  obscure 
mention  of  a  Captain  Grant,  of  Galena,  who  had  been 
in  the  army,  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  and  who  served 
through  the  Mexican  war.  Since  reading  Grant's 
"Memoirs,"  in  which  he  mentions  that  he  presided 
at  the  first  war-meeting  in  Galena,  after  the  attack  on 
Fort  Sumter  (on  which  occasion  E.  B.  Washburne,  who 
came  late,  grumbled  because  a  man  whom  nobody  knew 
had  been  made  chairman),  I  dimly  remember  that  it 
was  in  this  connection  that  I  first  heard  of  Captain 
Grant. 

Time  passed  rapidly  in  those  days,  and  for  months  I 
do  not  remember  any  further  public  mention  of  Captain 
Grant.  Bull  Run  came,  shocking  and  staggering  the 
loyal  North  ;  Ball's  Bluff  and  Wilson  Creek,  Baker  and 
Lyon  killed,  and  other  disasters  to  the  Union  army. 
Illinois  had  six  regiments  in  the  Mexican  war, — the 
numbering  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  began  with  the 
Seventh  Regiment.  Fifteen  regiments  were  recruited 
and  officered  in  the  imperial  State  of  Illinois  and 
marched  to  the  front  before  the  government  thought 
it  worth  while  to  offer  a  command  to  the  undistin- 
guished-looking, modest  Captain  Grant.     It  seems  now 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL    W.  R.  MARSHALL.  21 

very  wonderful,  when  professional  soldiers  and  vet- 
erans of  the  war  with  Mexico  were  so  rare,  that  forty- 
five  men  in  Illinois  were  appointed  field  ofiicers  of 
regiments,  besides  a  large  list  from  that  State  of  gen- 
eral officers,  before  there  was  any  use  for  Captain 
Grant,  exce|)t  a  clerk's  work,  or  something  equivalent, 
in  the  State  adjutant-general's  office.  He  had  tried  an 
application  directly  to  the  adjutant-general  at  Wash- 
ington, which  did  not  receive  the  common  courtesy  of 
an  answer.  He  went  to  Cincinnati  to  get  a  j^laee  on 
McClellan's  staff,  but  failed  even  to  see  McClellan. 
Finally,  the  Twenty-first  Illinois  Infantry  Kegiment 
became  insubordinate  from  having  incompetent  officers, 
when  it  occurred  to  the  governor  that  Grant  knew 
something  of  discipline,  having  been  in  the  regular 
army,  and  might  be  able  to  save  the  regiment  from 
utter  demoralization.  So  Captain  Grant  was  offered 
and  accepted  the  colonelcy  of  the  regiment.  But  for 
this  unusual  circumstance  there  is  no  assurance  that 
Grant  would  have  been  wanted  till  the  One  Hundred 
and  Twenty-first  Illinois  Regiment  was  recruited,  if 
ever.  So  slow  are  men  in  authority  to  recognize  those 
who  do  not  push  for  advancement. 

But  the  fruit  slowest  in  rij^ening  is  always  the  best. 
My  daily  avocation  required  me  to  note  every  event 
and  name  of  prominence  in  that  memorable  first  year 
of  the  war  (I  did  not  enter  the  service  until  the  calls 
after  the  retreat  of  McClellan  from  before  Richmond, 
in  July,  1862).  I  do  not  think  that  there  was  any 
noticeable  mention  of  Colonel  Grant  or  Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Grant,  as  he  came  to  be  through  the  influence,  I 
have  always  supposed,  of  Congressman  Washburne  of 


92  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

the  Galena  district  (who,  doubtless,  did  not  want  to  be 
behind  others  in  securing  generals'  commissions  for  his 
constituents),  until  Belmont,  in  November,  1861,  in 
which  affair  it  seemed  to  us  newspaper  critics  "  some 
one  had  blundered."  But  now  it  is  clear  it  was  under 
orders,  and  was  an  important  diversion  of  the  enemy 
from  sending  reinforcements  to  a  point  where  Colonel 
Dick  Oglesby  would  otherwise  have  met  disaster.  It 
accomplished  its  object.  But  the  man  of  heroic  silence 
and  patience  "  gave  no  sign"  in  answer  to  unjust  and 
ignorant  criticism  on  Belmont,  no  more  than  he  did 
afterwards  at  Shiloh  when  grievously  wronged,  both  by 
his  superior,  General  Halleck,  who  should  have  known 
better,  and  the  misinformed  public,  that  did  not  know 
better.  A  few  months  later  the  long  series  of  Union 
disasters  was  first  broken  by  General  Thomas  at  Mill 
Spring,  where  our  Minnesota  Second  Begiment,  under 
Van  Cleve,  so  honorably  bore  its  part.  Quickly  fol- 
lowed, in  February,  1862,  the  glorious  victory  at  Don- 
elson,  which  flashed  the  name  of  Grant  abroad  over  the 
land  and  across  the  seas.  Yet,  wonderful  to  relate,  he 
was  rewarded  by  Halleck  with  reproaches  and  removal 
from  command  of  the  gallant  army  at  whose  head  he 
won  that  great  victory.  At  Shiloh,  seven  weeks  later, 
he  was  subordinate  in  command  to  General  C.  F.  Smith, 
who  was  responsible  for  the  location  of  the  army,  but 
was  restored  to  the  command  before  the  battle  of  April 
6  and  7,  1862.  The  accounts  which  came  to  the  North 
of  that  first  day's  battle,  the  reports  of  the  Cincinnati 
papers,  which  were  the  first  and  the  fullest,  gave  the 
impression  that  it  was  a  great  disaster,  that  the  Army 
of  the  Tennessee  was  only  saved  by  Buell  and  the  Army 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL    W.  R.  MARSHALL.  93 

of  the  Cumberland.  The  newspaper  correspondents, 
who  were  as  badly  demoralized  as  those  raw  Ohio  troops 
who  fled  to  the  shelter  of  the  blufis  and  the  gunboats, — 
troops  that  afterwards  proved  the  bravest  of  the  brave, — 
saw  only  the  fugitives  and  the  dead  and  wounded,  the 
wreck  and  ruin  of  battle  that  always  drifts  to  the  rear. 
The  unquailing  front  of  Sherman,  W.  H.  L.  Wallace, 
Hurlburt,  Prentiss,  and  others,  steadily  directed  and 
inspired  by  Grant,  that  withstood  the  most  desperate 
charges  ever  made  in  the  war, — charges  led  in  person  by 
the  Confederate  General  A.  S.  Johnston,  who  was  killed, 
and  of  a  force  in  actual  fight  almost  double  that  of  the 
Union  army, — this  was  not  seen  nor  reported.  The  terri- 
ble havoc  made  of  the  enemy  was  not  seen  nor  reported. 
General  Prentiss,  who,  with  his  division,  was  captured 
about  sundown,  after  a  long  day's  fight,  was  reported 
surprised  and  taken  about  sunrise.  So  false  were  the 
newspaper  accounts.  Shiloli  was  in  truth  a  great  Union 
victory.  An  army  superior  in  numbers  was  defeated  and 
broken,  never  to  reappear  as  a  victorious  army,  if  we 
except  Chickamauga,  which,  all  honor  to  Thomas,  "the 
rock  of  Chickamauga,"  was  rather  a  drawn  battle,  so  far  as 
the  field  and  figliting  were  concerned.  As  Sherman  has 
well  said,  it  was  necessary  that  once  for  all  the  vaunted 
prowess  of  the  Southern  soldier — his  boast  that  he  was 
equal  in  battle  to  three  of  the  men  of  the  North — should 
be  put  to  the  test ;  that  the  two  should  close  in  deadly 
embrace ;  that  the  manhood,  the  courage,  the  endurance 
of  each  should  be  put  to  the  fullest  test.  This  was  done 
at  Shiloh.  It  was  a  death-grapple,  and  the  Northern 
man  did  not  cry  quits  first.  All  honor  and  just  credit 
to  Buell  and  his  army  on  the  second  day !     But  with 


94  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

Lew  Wallace  with  his  veteran  division,  who  blundered 
in  roads  the  first  day,  in  position  Sunday  night,  the 
issue  was  not  doubtful  Monday  mo~rning,  even  if  Buell 
had  not  gotten  up.  But  Buell's  presence  was  due;  his 
force  was  a  legitimate  part  of  Grant's  army  in  the  battle. 
In  a  just  military  sense  they  were  his  reserves,  and  their 
effective  work  the  second  day,  rightly  viewed,  was  a  part 
of  Grant's  honorable  achievement,  and  should  never 
have  been  regarded  to  his  disparagement  any  more  than 
Bliicher's  decisive  presence  at  Waterloo  should  disparage 
Wellington. 

Our  companion,  General  Sanborn,  tells  me  that  he 
journeyed  with  General  Grant  from  Memphis  to  Cairo 
on  a  steamer  in  October,  1863,  when  Grant  was  ordered 
north  to  take  command  at  Chattanooga.  In  conversing 
about  his  campaigns  and  battles.  Grant  said  he  never 
fought  a  battle,  nor  ever  expected  to  command  in  one, 
in  which  he  should  take  the  same  personal  satisfaction 
of  duty  well  done  as  at  Shiloh.  His  great  qualities  as 
a  fighter  of  battles  were  never  before  nor  afterwards  so 
severely  tried,  nor  ever  elsewhere  proved  so  invaluable 
to  the  nation  as  at  Shiloh.  The  cause  of  freedom  was 
hardly  elsewhere  so  poised  in  the  balance  as  there.  His 
presence,  his  activity,  his  courage  and  faith  did  turn 
the  scale  the  right  way.  Shiloh,  rightly  regarded,  was 
one  of  the  decisive  battles  of  the  war,  in  my  judgment 
as  much  so  as  Gettysburg.  The  defeat  of  Meade  at 
Gettysburg  would  have  been  repaired.  It  would  have 
been  barren  to  Lee.  It  was  too  near  the  populous  cen- 
tres of  the  North,  with  illimitable  resources.  If  the 
scale  of  battle  had  turned  the  other  way  at  Gettysburg 
it  would  have  been  at  worst  a  drawn  battle,  as,  indeed, 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL    W.  R.  MARSHALL.  95 

it  too  nearly  was,  with  Lee's  successful  retreat.  Meade 
would  have  retreated  towards  the  defences  of  Washing- 
ton, as  that  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  so  often  done 
after  defeat.  Witness  Bull  Kun,  Chickahominy,  Chan- 
cellorsville,  Fredericksburg,  and  second  Bull  Bun.  The 
scene  of  the  battle  being  on  one  side  of  the  Potomac 
instead  of  the  other  would  have  made  little  difference. 
Lee  could  no  more  have  effectively  pursued  Meade  than 
Meade  did  Lee.  Both  armies  were  and  would  have  been 
exhausted.  But  at  Shiloh,  in  those  early  spring  days  of 
1862,  for  that  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  if  it  had  had  a 
feeble  commander  and  had  suffered  defeat,  there  was  no 
line  of  retreat,  no  Washington  and  its  defences  near,  no 
vast  resources  of  men  and  vast  storehouses  of  material. 
Confederate  victory  there  would  have  changed  the  whole 
aspect  of  the  war. 

I  first  met  General  Grant  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where 
I  was  stationed  with  my  regiment  in  the  winter  of  1863. 
It  was  after  the  battle  of  Chattanooga,  but  before  he 
had  been  made  lieutenant-general  and  given  command 
of  all  the  armies.  The  great  battle  of  Chattanooga 
was  fought  on  the  25th  of  November,  1863.  The  dis- 
aster in  September  which  Bosecrans  met  at  Cliicka- 
mauga,  and  which  came  so  near  being  fatal  to  his 
army,  besieged  as  it  was  in  Chattanooga, — cut  off  from 
supplies  and  starving, — was  now  retrieved.  The  con- 
fident army  of  Bragg  was  hurled  back  to  Dalton,  and 
all  was  in  good  shape  for  the  next  spring's  campaign. 
General  Grant  for  the  first  time,  I  think,  during  the 
war  visited  his  old  home  and  friends  in  and  near  St. 
Louis.  General  Bosecrans  was  then  in  command  of 
the  Department  of  Missouri,  assigned  to  it  after  he  was 


96  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

superseded  by  Thomas  at  Chattanooga.  I  saw  Gen- 
eral Grant  at  the  old  Planter's  House,  at  the  theatre, 
and  at  a  magnificent  banquet  given  to  him  at  the  great 
Lindell  Hotel.  In  observing  him  at  that  time,  what 
struck  me  as  the  most  remarkable  quality  of  the  man 
was  his  imperturbable  calmness  and  unexcitability.  At 
the  banquet  there  was  a  fine  flow  of  social  feeling. 
General  Rosecrans  presided,  and  his  face  was  all  aglow 
with  pleasurable  excitement.  The  supper  was  superb, 
and  there  were  fitting  toasts  and  fine  speeches.  I  sat 
where  I  observed  General  Grant.  His  face  never 
changed  its  unmoved  expression.  It  never  lit  up  with 
excitement.  The  world  has  come  to  know  since  then 
his  genius  for  silence.  It  was  a  native  endowment, — 
nothing  studied,  nothing  acquired.  I  saw  him  with 
his  wife  and  children.  His  greatest  enjoyment  was 
manifestly  with  them.  Their  presence  and  happiness 
made  his  face  to  beam  as  nothing  else  would.  I  re- 
member once  in  Washington  to  have  gone  to  his  head- 
quarters on  business  connected  with  an  application  for 
appointment  of  General  Van  Cleve  to  a  vacancy  ex- 
isting, as  store-keeper  in  the  army. 

General  Grant  came  up  a  side  street  as  I  approached 
the  entrance  of  his  headquarters.  A  little  girl  was  on 
the  walk.  Grant  stopped  and  talked  to  her  in  a  tender, 
affectionate  manner,  his  face  lighting  up  with  such  feel- 
ing as  was  rarely  seen.  He  had,  as  we  all  now  know, 
the  simplicity  and  tender-heartedness  of  a  child.  In 
that  matter  of  Van  Cleve's  General  Grant  took  a  lively 
interest.  I  remember  his  unusually  warm  expression 
of  regard  for  General  Van  Cleve,  an  old  West  Pointer. 
Unfortunately,  he  had  little  influence  with  President 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL    W.  R.  MARSHALL.  97 

Johnson,  and    the  api^ointment  was  given  to  another 
less  worthy. 

In  October,  1874,  I  attended  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  Society  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  at  Spring- 
field, Illinois.  It  was  made  the  occasion  of  dedicating 
the  monument  over  the  grave  of  Lincoln,  and  was  a 
great  occasion.  Tens  of  thousands  of  people  of  Illi- 
nois and  large  numbers  from  other  States  were  there. 
President  Grant,  Vice-President  Wilson,  and  General 
Sherman  were  there.  General  Grant  delivered  a  feeling 
address  at  the  unveiling  ceremonies.  I  was  invited  to 
meet  him  and  Mrs.  Grant  and  other  distinguished  guests 
at  dinner  at  Governor  Beveridge's.  After  dinner  the 
gentlemen  were  in  the  library,  smoking  and  chatting. 
Mr.  Borie,  of  Philadelphia,  first  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
under  Grant,  was  one  of  the  guests.  I  mentioned  to 
him  that  just  before  leaving  St.  Paul  I  had  met  Judge 
Porter,  of  Philadelphia,  with  whom,  no  doubt,  Mr.  Borie 
was  acquainted.  He  said  he  knew  him  quite  well.  Gen- 
eral Grant  also  said  he  knew  Judge  Porter.  Something 
was  said  of  his  belonging  to  a  distinguished  family ;  that 
his  father  was  a  governor  of  Pennsylvania.  General 
Grant  said  General  Porter,  of  his  staff,  was  a  brother  of 
Judge  Porter.  I  remarked  that  Judge  Porter  was  a 
much  older  man  than  General  Porter.  I  was  somewhat 
surprised  to  know  that  they  were  brothers.  General 
Grant  said  it  reminded  him  of  an  incident  at  West 
Point.  There  came  to  the  academy  a  new  cadet  from 
Western  Pennsylvania  named  Grier.  Upon  his  being 
introduced  to  the  professor  of  French  in  the  academy,  a 
Frenchman,  he  repeated  the  name  Grier,  Grier,  remark- 
ing that  he  knew  a  Judge  Grier  of  that  part  of  the 


98  GLIMPSES  OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

country.     "Was  the  cadet  related  to  Judge  Grier?" 
The  young  man  answered  carelessly,  "  Yes,  they  were 
distantly  related."     "Ah,"  said  the  professor,  "second 
cousin,  perhaps  ?"     (Grant  quite  successfully  gave  the 
Frenchman's  pronunciation,  "  cooseen.")     "No,"   said 
Grier,  "  he  is  the  oldest  of  twelve  children,  and  I  am 
the  youngest;  that  is  the  distance  of  our  relationship." 
I  had  occasion  to  go  to  New  York   directly  from 
Springfield,  and  was   in   the  same  sleeper  with  Vice- 
President  Henry  Wilson.     During  the   impeachment 
trial  of  President  Johnson  I  was  in  Washington,  having 
the  privilege  of  the  floor  of  the  Senate.     I  repeatedly 
walked  from  the  Capitol  with  Senator  Wilson,  discussing 
the  trial.     He  was  anxious  for  the  conviction  of  John- 
son, and  expressed  the  belief  that  if  the  Senate  failed 
to   find    him  guilty  the  consequences  would  be  disas- 
trous to  the  country,     I  remember  his  asking  what  the 
feeling  upon  the  question  was  in  the  Northwest,  from 
whence  I  had  just  come.    I  told  him  there  was  no  great 
feeling ;   no  one  feared  any  trouble  in  any  event.     If 
President  Johnson  had  really  committed  offences  that 
justified  removal  he  should  be  judged  accordingly.     I 
found  my  judgment  inclining  to  the  President's  side. 
While  he  had  done  perverse  things,  had  been  violent 
in  denouncing  Congress,  and  wrong-headed  in  Stanton's 
removal,  yet  there  was  no  case  of  malfeasance  in  office 
made  out  that  justified  the  extreme  measure  of  removal. 
It  would  have  been  a   dangerous   precedent.     So,  in 
meeting  Vice-President  Wilson  six  years  after  the  trial, 
I  asked  liim  if  he  was  not  then  thankful  that  Johnson 
was  not  convicted.     He  answered  that  he  was  content 
that  Johnson  had  not  been  removed,  but  was  glad  he 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL    W.  R.  MARSHALL.  99 

had  been  put  on  his  trial ;  that  it  brought  Johnson  to 
his  senses,  and  secured  the  country  from  a  great  peril. 
He  then  related  much  of  what  Chauncey  M.  Depew  re- 
cently gave  to  the  public,  as  told  him  at  a  dinner  by 
General  Grant.  It  was  news  to  me  and  startling.  I 
could  then  understand  the  solicitude  of  Wilson  and 
other  Kepublican  Senators  at  tlie  trial.  They  had 
knowledge  of  things  which  were  not  in  the  charges, 
and  which  General  Butler,  one  of  the  House  managers 
of  impeachment,  has  lately  said  could  not  be  brought  in 
evidence  on  account  of  the  confidential  relations  of  the 
general  of  the  army  and  the  President.  I  remember 
distinctly  Wilson's  account  of  the  interview  in  which 
Johnson  wanted  Grant  to  go  to  Mexico.  Grant  told 
him  if  it  was  a  political  appointment,  he  declined  it ;  if 
it  was  a  military  order,  he  refused  to  obey.  In  time  of 
peace  the  President  had  no  right  to  order  him  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  United  States. 

I  happened  to  be  in  Washington  in  May  the  first 
year  that  Grant  was  President,  when  Mr.  Welsh,  of 
Philadelphia,  and  other  philanthropic  gentlemen  visited 
Washington  to  confer  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
and  the  President  on  a  better  method  of  appointing 
Indian  agents  than  the  political  one.  That  superior 
man,  Jacob  D.  Cox,  of  Ohio,  was  Secretary  of  the  In- 
terior. As  Governor  of  Minnesota,  which  had  a  large 
Indian  population,  I  was  invited  to  a  breakfast  and 
conference  on  this  subject,  at  which  were  present  Secre- 
tary Cox,  the  gentleman  named,  Hon.  Henry  M.  Pice 
of  this  State,  and  others.  On  that  day  the  party  called 
at  the  White  House  by  appointment  and  presented  the 
subject  to  President  Grant.    I  remember  that  the  Presi- 


IQQ         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

dent's  remarks  showed  an  earnest  purpose  to  do  some- 
thing effective  to  reform  the  abuses  of  our  Indian 
system.  This  conference  resuhed  in  the  Indian  Com- 
mission, to  which  George  H.  Stuart,  of  Philadelphia, 
who  had  become  widely  known  as  the  president  of 
the  Christian  Commission  during  the  war,  was  ap- 
pointed ;  also  William  E.  Dodge,  of  New  York,  Felix 
Brunot,  of  Pittsburg,  and  other  like  men.  At  this  in- 
terview was  revealed  to  me  an  element  in  Grant's  char- 
acter of  benevolence  and  tender  regard  for  the  rights 
of  the  helpless.  This  measure  of  Grant's  administration, 
now  in  force,  was  the  first  step  to  reform  Indian  abuses 
in  almost  a  century. 

An  unhappy  alienation  between  General  Grant  and 
General  Hancock  took  place  in  1869.  General  Han- 
cock, in  command  at  New  Orleans,  displeased  the 
Union  men,  and  was  superseded  by  General  Sheridan. 
Hancock  was  ordered  to  report  at  Washington.  He 
did  report  to  the  adjutant-general,  but  did  not  call  on 
President  Grant.  It  would  have  been  an  official 
courtesy  to  call  on  the  President.  I  believe  it  was  not 
an  official  duty.  His  failure  to  call  was  commented  on 
as  a  studied  discourtesy,  which  doubtless  it  was  not.  In 
a  day  or  two  after,  Hancock  was  standing  on  the  corner 
opposite  the  east  front  of  the  Treasury  building,  when 
the  President,  in  crossing  the  street,  approached  near 
him  without  Hancock  greeting  him.  The  gossips  re- 
ported that  Hancock  had  cut  Grant.  Governor  Flan- 
ders, of  Louisiana,  who  was  with  Hancock,  afterwards 
explained  that  Grant  turned  to  enter  Jay  Cooke  & 
Co.'s  bank  before  Hancock  was  aware.  If  Hancock 
had  seen  this  course  of  Grant  he  would  have  advanced 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL    W.  R.  MARSHALL.         IQl 

to  meet  and  salute  the  President.  No  explanations 
were  made,  however,  between  the  lorincipals.  Hence- 
forth there  were  only  the  most  formal  official  relations 
between  these  distinguished  men.  The  death  of  Gen- 
eral Halleck,  in  1869,  left  vacant  an  important  com- 
mand in  the  South,  to  which  Hancock  felt  entitled  as 
ranking  major-general.  But  General  Hancock  was  as- 
signed to  the  Department  of  Dakota,  a  command  in- 
ferior in  dignity.  The  next  year  General  Thomas  died, 
leaving  vacant  the  command  of  the  Division  of  the 
Pacific.  General  Hancock's  claims  to  that  command 
were  brought  specially  to  the  attention  of  the  President 
and  General  Sherman,  but  General  Schofield  was  as- 
signed to  it.  Some  correspondence  ensued  between 
Generals  Hancock  and  Sherman,  in  which  Sherman, 
with  his  usual  vigor  of  style,  defended  the  action  of  the 
President.  In  November,  1872,  General  Meade  died 
at  Philadelphia,  in  command  of  the  Division  of  the 
Atlantic,  a  command  of  great  dignity,  but  not  of  great 
military  importance.  It  embraces  the  cities  of  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  etc.  General  Hancock's  head- 
quarters being  at  St.  Paul,  I  met  him  occasionally,  but 
had  no  intimacy  with  him.  I  esteemed  him  for  his 
distinguished  record  as  a  soldier,  and  regretted  the  un- 
pleasant relations  between  him  and  the  President.  On 
the  death  of  Meade  it  occurred  to  me  that  it  would  be 
a  magnanimous  thing  in  President  Grant  to  give  Han- 
cock that  command.  I  felt  it  so  deeply,  and  fearing 
the  nearer  influences  at  Washington  might  overlook 
Hancock's  claims,  that  I  made  bold  to  write  to  General 
Sherman  on  the  subject,  expecting  the  letter  to  be  seen 
by  the  President.     I  urged  that  this  opportunity  to 


102         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

heal  the  wounds  of  General  Hancock  should  not  be 
allowed  to  pass.  Grant,  the  same  month  of  Meade's 
death,  had  been  re-elected  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 
It  would  be  a  graceful  act  to  give  General  Hancock 
this  command  befitting  his  rank.  I  received  promptly 
from  General  Sherman  the  following  letter,  honorable 
to  his  soldierly  feelings : 


"  Headquarters  Army  of  the  United  States. 
"  Washington,  D.  C,  December  12,  1872. 
"  Gov.  Wm.  E.  Marshall,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 

"Dear  Sir, — I  have  just  read  your  letter  to  the  President, 
and  believe  he  was  impressed  w^ith  it  just  as  you  wanted.  I 
surely  have  always  been  anxious  to  recognize  General  Han- 
cock's claim,  both  on  account  of  his  rank  and  eminent  services, 
and  told  the  President  that  this  was  a  good  chance  to  do  so  by 
letting  Hancock  take  Meade's  place  in  Philadelphia.  Eeally 
and  in  truth  there  is  no  reason  for  keeping  up  the  Division  of 
the  Atlantic ;  it  was  done  out  of  respect  for  Meade,  and  the 
same  reason  (which  is  a  good  one)  will  sanction  the  assignment 
of  General  Hancock  to  it,  and  I  will  be  glad  if  the  President 
will  do  it.  I  have  never  had  the  least  difference  with  General 
Hancock,  but  the  President  did  refuse  to  let  him  have  a  com- 
mand (Halleck's,  at  the  South)  because  of  his  belief  that  Gen- 
eral Hancock's  opinions  on  vital  questions  differed  from  his 
own.  There  were  also  special  reasons  for  General  Schofield 
going  to  the  Division  of  the  Pacific,  and  to  this  General  Han. 
cock  did  take  exception ;  but  the  matter  was  clearly  within  the 
province  of  the  President,  and  once  resolved  on  had  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  gracefully.  Now,  if  the  President  will  assign  Han- 
cock to  Philadelphia  I  will  be  perfectly  satisfied,  and  have  so 
notified  him.  Probably  the  matter  Avill  be  concluded  and  an- 
nounced by  telegraph  before  you  get  this.  For  your  kind  ex- 
pressions of  friendship  and  regard  I  am  sure  General  Grant  felt 
pleased,  and  I  knoAV  that  I  bear  in  honor  all  the  sentiments  you 
express  of  Meade,  Thomas,  and  Mower,  and  all  the  really  good 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL    W.  R.  MARSHALL.        103 

and  great  men  who  have  preceded  us  a  little  to  our  common 
destiny. 

"  With  great  respect,  etc., 

"  W.  T.  Sherman." 

The  order  assigning  Hancock  to  the  Division  of  the 
Atlantic  was  made,  in  which  command  he  still  remains 
(January  6,  1886).  It  re-established  entire  friendly 
relations  between  him  and  President  Grant. 

Since  first  meeting  General  Grant,  in  1863,  his  genius 
and  character  have  been  to  me  an  interesting  study. 
There  is  no  great  character  in  history,  no  one  of  my 
own  time,  no  other  general  of  the  war,  whose  sources  of 
power  have  seemed  so  difficult  to  discover  as  Grant's. 
I  met  him  in  this  city  in  1865,  in  the  leisurely  tour  he 
was  making  of  the  country.  I  met  him  in  Washington 
repeatedly  while  general-in-chief  and  while  President, 
and  often  at  the  reunions  of  the  Society  of  the  Army 
of  the  Tennessee.  The  last  time  I  saw  him  was  two 
years  ago  last  September,  in  this  city  and  at  Minne- 
tonka,  at  the  time  of  the  Villard  Northern  Pacific  cele- 
bration. I  was  not  under  his  immediate  command  in 
the  army,  but  I  was  familiar  with  his  career,  and  had 
met  him  often  enough  to  have  some  means  of  knowing 
the  man.  Yet  until  his  long,  death-ending  illness,  and 
until  reading  his  memoirs,  I  had  never  wholly  satisfied 
myself  whether  his  name  was 

"  One  of  the  few,  the  immortal  names 
That  were  not  born  to  die." 

His  opportunity  was  great.  His  achievements  were 
great.  The  means  and  resources  at  his  command  were 
great.  He  became  the  chief  of  a  great  and  noble  cause. 
He  was  consecrated  by  the  sacredness  of  the  principles 


IQ4,         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

of  freedom,  humanity,  and  national  integrity,  for  which 
he  fought.  How  much  of  the  honor  and  fame  that 
Grant  won  sprung  from  the  nobleness  of  the  cause  and 
the  God-given  triumph  of  that  cause  with  which  he  was 
identified?  This  question  to  me  has  not  been  easy  to 
answer. 

My  first  impression  of  General  Grant  was  that  he 
had  good  common  qualities ;  that  he  had  prudence  and 
perseverance,  and,  with  large  means,  had  accomplished 
creditable  results.  How  would  it  be  if  he  were  limited 
to  inferior  means,  and  by  force  of  circumstances  had  all 
the  disadvantages  that  Frederick  the  Great  and  other 
great  captains  of  history  had,  and  yet  who  grandly 
triumphed?  Would  he  by  strokes  of  genius  have  ex- 
tricated himself  and  been  victorious  ?  He  was  hardly 
so  tried.  The  campaign  of  Vicksburg  comes  nearest 
to  answering  this  question,  the  credit  of  which  cam- 
paign, Sherman  says,  "  in  its  conception  and  execution 
belongs  exclusively  to  General  Grant,  not  only  in  the 
great  whole,  but  the  thousands  of  its  details ;  for  no 
other  commanding  general  of  an  army  ever  gave  more 
of  his  personal  attention  to  details,  or  wrote  so  many  of 
his  own  orders,  letters,  and  reports  as  General  Grant." 
Grant  had  numbers  inferior  to  the  enemy  when  he 
swung  around  Vicksburg  and  fought  the  battles  of 
Raymond,  Jackson,  and  Champion  Hills.  Without  a 
base  of  supplies  or  line  of  communication  he  attempted 
and  succeeded  in  doing  a  thing  contrary  to  the  maxims 
of  war.  It  was  original  in  conception  and  brilliant  in 
execution,  and  would  almost  alone  entitle  him  to  rank 
with  the  famous  soldiers  of  all  time.  Taken  in  connec- 
tion with  what  he  achieved  elsewhere,  his  claim  to  so 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL    W.  R.  MARSHALL.        105 

much,  I  think,  is  made  clear.  He  who  studies  Grant's 
character  and  genius  will  discover  that  while  he  did 
not  possess  the  lightning-like  rapidity  of  thought  and 
plan  and  execution  which  characterized  Napoleon,  he 
did  possess  that  sagacity,  that  judgment,  steadiness,  and 
tenacity  which  characterized  Frederick  the  Great  and 
Wellington.  But  Grant's  greatness,  after  all,  was,  like 
Washington's,  largely  in  his  moral  qualities.  He  could 
never  have  risen  as  he  did,  to  the  highest  command, 
and  enjoyed  the  loyal,  devoted  support  of  Sherman, 
McPherson,  Sheridan,  and  others,  to  whom  he  acknowl- 
edged himself  so  much  indebted,  without  the  sincerity, 
unselfishness,  justice,  and  generosity,  without  the  unal- 
loyed patriotism  and  devotion  to  duty  which  I  believe 
was  never  surpassed  in  any  other  great  character. 
Where,  in  all  history,  is  anything  finer  than  the  letter 
to  Sherman  and  McPherson  when  he  accepted  the 
appointment  of  lieutenant-general  ?  He  almost  apolo- 
gizes to  them  for  accepting  a  promotion  and  an  honor 
in  which  they  cannot  in  full  measure  share.  Sherman's 
letter  in  reply,  in  noble  generosity  rivals  Grant's.  No 
finer,  juster  characterization  of  Grant  than  this  of 
Sherman  has  ever  been  written. 

Some  one  of  the  ancients,  speaking  of  another,  said 
that  he  was  not  only  fortunate  in  his  birth  and  life,  but 
equally  so  in  the  circumstances  of  his  death.  But  for 
the  business  misfortunes  of  General  Grant,  near  the 
close  of  life,  and  the  long  illness  and  combat  with 
death,  his  heroic  patience  and  kindness  and  charity, 
we  should  never  have  known  the  entire  greatness  of  his 
character.  Mount  McGregor  becomes  to  his  country- 
men the  mount  of  transfiguration.     The  almost  divine 


X06         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

loveliness  of  the  man  shone  about  him  as  the  vesture 
of  light  did  about  the  wholly  divine  Master  to  the  dis- 
ciples of  old.  The  gentle  heroism  of  those  last  days 
on  earth  was  tenderly  pathetic.  One  thinks  of  Ten- 
nyson's description  of  the  death  of  King  Arthur  as 
befitting  Grant's : 

"  Then  saw  they  how  there  hove  a  dusky  barge, 
Dark  as  a  funeral  scarf  from  stem  to  stern. 
******* 
Then  murmured  Arthur,  '  Place  me  in  the  barge.' 

.  .  .  There  those  three  Queens 
Put  forth  their  hands,  and  took  the  King,  and  wept. 
But  she,  that  rose  the  tallest  of  them  all 
And  fairest,  laid  his  head  upon  her  lap. 
And  loosed  the  shattered  casque,  and  chafed  his  hands, 
And  called  him  by  his  name,  complaining  loud. 
And  dropping  bitter  tears  against  his  brow 
Sir  poll  with  dark  blood.     .     .     . 
And  slowly  answered  Arthur  from  the  barge  : 
******* 
'  I  have  lived  my  life,  and  that  which  I  have  done 
May  He  within  himself  make  pure ! 
******* 
But  now  farewell.     I  am  going  a  long  way 
With  these  thou  seost' — 

*  :h  *  *  *  *  * 

To  tl  e  island-valley  of  Avilion  ; 

Where  falls  not  hail,  or  rain,  or  any  snow, 

Nor  ever  wind  blows  loudly ;  but  it  lies 

Deep  meadow'd,  happy,  ftiir  with  orchard  lawns 

And  bowery  hollows  crowned  with  summer  sea, 

Where  I  will  heal  me  of  my  grievous  wound.'  " 


SOME  EXPERIENCES  OF  AN  ENLISTED  MAN. 

BY  CAPTAIN  HENRY  A.  CASTLE, 

ONE    HUNDRED    AND   THIRTY-SEVENTH    ILLINOIS   INFANTRY,    U.    S.    VOLUNTEERS. 


It  may  be  that  in  making  up  the  ultimate  totality 
of  the  chronicles  of  the  war  many  of  the  unconsidered 
trifles  of  experience,  even  of  the  youngest  and  least 
prominent  in  the  ranks,  will  be  of  value  as  illustrating 
the  spirit  of  the  epoch,  and  the  motives,  feelings,  and 
impulses  of  the  great  mass  of  the  armies  of  the  Union. 
If  so,  my  own  somewhat  imprudent  attempt  to  comply 
with  an  early  request  to  furnish  a  "  paper"  may  be 
justified.  If  not,  not;  for  one  whose  limited  service 
touched  the  great  events  and  great  actors  of  the  strug- 
gle at  few  points,  and  affected  its  grand  strategies  not  at 
all,  can  have  little  to  communicate  of  more  than  per- 
sonal interest,  and  can  hope  to  add  nothing  to  the  known 
facts  of  history. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  prelude  the  subsequent  service 
as  a  commissioned  officer,  which  entitles  me  to  a  seat  in 
this  honorable  body,  by  a  term  as  private  and  non- 
commissioned ofiicer,  from  which  I  was  mustered  out 
by  wounds  received  in  battle.  And  though  I  am  glad 
of  the  privilege  of  this  comradeship,  and  by  no  means 
ashamed  of  the  fact  that  after  I  had  recovered  from  my 
wounds  a  full  company  of  one  hundred  men  unani- 

107 


X08         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

mously  elected  me  their  captain  and  never  accused  me  of 
betraying  their  trust,  yet,  if  the  balance-sheet  of  pride 
were  struck,  I  would  be  obliged  to  admit,  even  in  this 
presence,  that  a  considerable  surplus  remained  on  the 
side  of  my  first  service.  It  is  to  what  must  be  at  best 
but  a  desultory  record  of  some  of  the  episodes  of  that 
earlier  experience  that  I  will  confine  myself  upon  this 
occasion.  I  was  but  twenty  years  old  when  I  enlisted, 
in  August,  1862,  as  a  private  in  the  Seventy-third  Illi- 
nois Infantry,  Colonel  James  F.  Jaquess  commanding, 
at  Springfield.  Hence  it  will  be  scarcely  necessary  to 
call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  person  speaking  is,  for 
all  practical  purposes,  an  entirely  distinct  individual 
from  the  person  spoken  of,  in  order  to  palliate  any  ap- 
parent egotism  which  the  inevitably  frequent  use  of  the 
personal  pronoun  herein  will  involve. 

So  far  as  I  can  now  remember  and  analyze  my  mo- 
tives for  enlisting,  they  were  a  combination  of  patriotism 
and  pride, — the  latter  perhaps  predominating.  I  was 
neither  reckless  nor  adventuresome,  and  I  had  not  a 
particle  of  the  strictly  military  spirit  or  ambition.  But 
I  ardently  desired  to  see  the  Rebellion  suppressed  and 
slavery  abolished,— and,  above  all,  I  felt  that  if  it  were 
granted  me  to  live  to  old  age,  I  should  always  be  pro- 
foundly mortified  by  the  reflection  that  I  had  passed 
through  such  a  momentous  conflict  without  taking  any 
part  in  it.  Restraining  influences  were,  the  objections 
of  anxious  parents,  who  held  me  back  more  than  a  year 
after  I  had  fully  determined  to  go,  and  an  entire  lack 
of  confidence  in  my  own  physical  strength  and  personal 
courage  ;  the  former  deepening  my  sense  of  the  sacrifice 
I  was  to  make  through  the  extra  risks  I  should  run,  and 


ADDRESS  BY  CAPTAIN  HENRY  A.  CASTLE.       109 

the  latter  constantly  admonishing  me  to  shun  positions 
where,  in  case  of  failure  in  the  hour  of  trial,  it  would 
be  conspicuously  disgraceful.  I  also  dreaded  responsi- 
bility for  human  life,  and  if  I  had  then  any  aspirations 
at  all  for  a  commission,  they  would  have  been  over- 
whelmingly satisfied  by  the  position  of  second  lieuten- 
ant on  the  staff  of  some  trusted  brigade  commander. 
Higher  than  that  I  never  dreamed  of  climbing  or  desired 
to  climb. 

Before  the  1st  of  September,  1862,  we  were  hurried 
off,  half  organized  and  entirely  unarmed,  to  Louisville, 
Kentucky.  How  deficient  we  were  in  organization,  and 
even  in  the  knowledge  of  elementary  military  rules,  one 
little  incident  will  testify.  At  Springfield,  having  shown 
some  proficiency  in  making  out  muster-in  rolls  and  con- 
solidated returns,  I  was  temporarily  detailed  as  a  clerk 
in  the  office  of  the  regimental  adjutant-  On  our  hasty 
departure  the  adjutant  remained  behind.  I,  a  private 
soldier,  acted  as  adjutant  for  twenty  days,  signing  all 
reports,  countersigning  all  orders,  and  performing  all 
his  functions.  No  one,  not  even  the  twenty  lieutenants 
eligible  to  promotion,  questioned  my  right.  At  last  a 
martinet  brigade  commander  who  had  spent  a  week 
carefully  instructing  me,  was  so  chagrined,  when  he 
accidentally  learned  he  had  wasted  his  teachings  on  a 
person  but  one  grade  in  rank  above  an  army  mule, 
that  he  at  once  ordered  our  colonel  to  detail  a  pair  of 
shoulder-straps  to  hold  intercourse  with  him  thereafter. 
This,  in  turn,  so  offended  my  own  eminently  civilian 
sense  of  dignity  that  I  promptly  "  resigned"  my  clerk- 
shijD,  absolutely  refused  to  tell  Mr.  First  Lieutenant 
what  to  do  in  the  offi.ce,  and  left  him  to  flounder  until 


110         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

the  adjutant  returned.  At  Louisville  we  were  to  meet 
Buell's  army  and  confront  Bragg's  on  their  historic 
free-for-all  race  from  the  Tennessee  River  to  the  Ohio. 
Between  that  date,  September  1,  and  the  1st  of  January 
following  I  went  through  all  the  experiences  of  inaction 
in  camp,  sickness  in  hospital,  toilful  marches  through 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee  to  Nashville  and  Murfrees- 
boro',  battle  and  wounds.  It  was  the  longest  and 
hardest  four  months  of  my  life,  and  yet  I  think,  upon 
the  whole,  the  most  enjoyable. 

Quickly  armed  and  slightly  drilled  at  Louisville,  we 
were  rushed  out  to  cover  General  Nelson's  disorderly 
retreat  from  Richmond,  Kentucky ;  then  hustled  off  to 
Cincinnati  and  Covington  to  help  repel  Kirby  Smith's 
threatened  raid  ;  then,  after  a  few  days,  whirled  back  to 
Louisville,  to  form  a  part  of  Buell's  force,  soon  mobilized 
into  the  new  Army  of  the  Cumberland ;  then  forward 
in  pursuit  of  Bragg  to  Perry ville  and  Crab  Orchard ; 
and  thence  to  Bowling  Green  and  Nashville,  which  we 
reached  early  in  November.  My  premonitions  as  to 
sickness  were  sjDcedily  realized.  I  was  left  behind  in 
Cincinnati  in  a  hospital,  half  delirious  with  the  aches 
and  burnings  of  incipient  typhoid  fever.  This  was 
happily  averted,  but  not  without  two  or  three  weeks  of 
illness  and  convalescence,  during  which  I  sounded  all 
the  depths  and  shoals  of  hospital  life  in  its  worst  phases, 
— that  is,  far  to  the  rear.  For  I  found  as  a  summing  up 
of  this  and  subsequent  experiences  elsewhere,  that  the 
sick  and  wounded  received  their  best  care  on  the  battle- 
field and  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  where  discipline  was 
strict,  surgeons  skilful,  and  battle-mate  nurses  tender ; 
whereas,  north  of   the  Ohio,  where  there  was  every 


ADDBESS  BY  CAPTAIN  HENRY  A.   CASTLE.        m 

facility  for  better  treatment,  what  with  drunken  and 
brutal  doctors,  thieving  ward-masters,  and  careless 
nurses,  the  situation  could  too  often  only  be  described 
in  the  muscular  Saxon  which  the  revised  edition  of  the 
Scriptures  has  prematurely  discarded. 

I  wrestled  with  three  Cincinnati  hospitals,  and  w^as 
finally  hoisted  out  to  a  convalescent  camp  thirty  miles 
farther  north.  Here  the  tedium  and  little  villanies  of 
the  situation  were  seriously  aggravated  by  the  knowl- 
edge that  my  regiment  was  marching  into  Kentucky ; 
that  a  battle  w^as  imminent ;  that  there  was  danger  of 
the  Kebellion  being  put  down  before  I  had  succeeded 
in  shooting  anybody,  thus  defeating  the  whole  object  of 
my  enlistment. 

Accordingly  I  availed  myself  of  the  first  dark  night 
to  do  a  very  reprehensible  thing.  With  two  or  three 
comrades  I  deserted ;  rode  to  Cincinnati  tramp-wise  on 
a  freight-train,  and  to  Louisville  ditto  on  a  steamboat ; 
dodged  the  provost  guards  of  both  cities  and  several 
guerrilla  bands  on  Kentucky  turnpikes ;  performed  feats 
of  strategy  enough  to  have  made  a  large  military  repu- 
tation in  a  little  affair  like  the  Mexican  war,  and,  after 
tribulations  unutterable,  overtook  the  army,  alas!  too 
late  to  help  whip  Bragg  in  the  battle  of  Periyville, 
where  our  regiment  had  its  baptism  of  fire,  and  where 
not  to  have  been  was,  for  the  ensuing  two  months,  a 
reproach  almost  too  bitter  to  be  borne. 

Having  followed  Bragg  to  Crab  Orchard,  and  found 
that  his  ragged  but  nimble  hordes  had  vanished  in  the 
lengthening  perspective  towards  Cumberland  Gap,  Buell 
changed  his  line  of  march  to  Nashville  via  Lebanon 
and  Bowling  Green. 


112         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

This  leisurely  excursion  was  a  perpetual  picnic  in  the 
glorious  October  weather.  The  only  danger  arose  from 
the  squadrons  of  John  Morgan's  guerrillas,  which  hov- 
ered on  our  flanks,  ready  to  pick  up  any  too  venture- 
some stragglers.  And  the  principal  drawback  was  the 
dry  weather,  which  not  only  filled  the  roads  with  dust 
through  the  day,  but  shrunk  the  widely-separated  horse- 
ponds,  which  were  our  chief  reliance  for  camp-water 
at  night,  to  such  dimensions  that  by  the  time  five  hun- 
dred mules  had  quenched  their  thirst  from  a  slimy  pool 
forty  feet  in  diameter,  and  five  thousand  men  had  done 
their  nocturnal  bathing,  cooking,  and  drinking  from  the 
same,  the  stuff  that  was  left  therein  to  fill  the  canteens 
for  next  day's  march  was  just  about  the  right  consist- 
ency for  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis  editors  to  throw  at 
each  other  with  a  keen  relish. 

On  my  return  to  the  regiment  my  friends  at  head- 
quarters, noting  the  continued  effects  of  my  recent  ill- 
ness, gave  me  a  temporary  detail  to  fill  the  place  of 
the  absent  quartermaster's  sergeant.  This  secured  me 
a  horse  to  ride  on  the  march,  and  made  me  ex  officio 
regimental  wagon-master.  Here  was  a  new  field  of 
usefulness,  and  I  was  fully  resolved  to  distinguish  ray- 
self.  I  succeeded  speedily  and  beyond  my  most  san- 
guine expectations.  Each  regiment  then  marched  luxuri- 
ously with  thirteen  six-mule  teams ;  a  year  later  three  or 
four  amply  sufficed.  We  were  even  obliged  to  conscript 
three  or  four  adtlitional  teams  every  day  from  reluctant 
farmers  to  carry  our  extra  baggage  and  accumulations 
of  souvenirs.  These  were  ox-teams  with  negro  drivers. 
Two  days'  steady  travel  on  the  limestone  turnpikes  of 
Kentucky  would  wear  out  the  feet  of  the  oxen,  when 


ADDRESS  BY  CAPTAIN  HENRY  A.  CASTLE.        II3 

another  team  would  be  seized,  the  load  shifted,  and  the 
negro,  thirty  miles  from  home,  would,  as  a  rule,  drive 
the  lame  oxen  to  the  side  of  the  road,  turn  them  loose, 
and,  joining  the  throng  of  black  cooks  and  hostlers  pre- 
viously accumulated,  keep  step  thenceforth  to  the  music 
of  the  Union  with  a  light  and  happy  heart. 

On  the  morning  of  the  second  or  third  day  of  my 
service  as  ex  officio  teamster-in-chief,  I  found  myself  so 
delayed  by  hunting  fresh  oxen  and  loading  that  we  had 
lost  our  proper  place  in  the  long  wagon-train  following 
the  army,  were  obliged  to  fall  in  at  the  extreme  rear  of 
it,  and  plod  along  through  the  day  at  least  six  miles 
behind  the  marching  column,  with  no  hope  of  gaining 
space  in  the  interim.  Towards  evening,  as  the  chances 
for  overtaking  the  regiment,  or  even  finding  it  if  over- 
taken in  the  fast-coming  darkness,  lessened,  I  began  to 
consider  what  I  should  do.  A  genteel-looking  young 
man  in  a  semi-military  dress  rode  up  to  me  from  the  rear, 
and  fell  easily  into  conversation.  He  said  he  was  born 
and  bred  in  that  region  of  the  country,  but  now  lived  at 
Peoria,  Illinois ;  that  he  was  running  a  laundry  for  the 
custom  of  army  officers,  and  that  his  apparatus  was  in 
a  wagon  to  the  rear,  among  forty  or  fifty  others,  the  odds 
and  ends  of  the  big  train,  which  during  the  day  had  been 
switched  out  by  break-downs,  etc.,  and  had  finally  fallen 
in  behind  my  own  fifteen.  He  was  very  agreeable,  and 
soon  suggested  that  it  was  about  time  to  go  into  camp. 
He  spoke  of  a  fine  place  on  a  side  road  that  branched 
off  a  little  way  ahead,  where  there  was  a  grove  of  beech- 
trees  and  a  large  spring  of  excellent  water.  I  accepted 
his  offer  to  conduct  us  thither,  and  when  the  junction 
was  reached  filed  off  with  my  train,  all  those  behind 


114         GLIMPSES    OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

obediently  following,  like  a  flock  of  sheep.  He  marched 
us  about  three  miles  from  the  forks  of  the  road,  with  one 
plausible  excuse  after  another  for  the  unexpected  dis- 
tance. But  the  camping-spot  when  reached  amply  ful- 
filled his  promises  and  compensated  the  trip.  On  arri- 
val I  found  myself  in  command  of  about  seventy  teams 
and  fully  three  hundred  men, — teamsters,  sick,  strag- 
glers, and  contrabands,  who  had  blindly  followed  our 
lead.  All  camped  there,  and,  after  drinking,  washing, 
and  eating  as  each  could,  slept  under  the  trees.  My 
guide,  philosopher,  and  friend  made  no  more  allusions 
to  his  laundry- wagon,  but  supped  with  me  and  sliared 
my  blanket  on  the  hard  ground.  When  I  awoke  in  the 
morning  he  was  missing,  but  I  thought  little  of  that 
circumstance  until,  a  few  days  afterwards,  John  Morgan 
captured  two  or  three  stragglers  from  our  regiment, 
paroled  them,  and  sent  them  in,  with  the  comi)liments 
of  his  brother  and  adjutant  to  me,  and  the  information 
that  he  had  gone  out  of  the  laundry  business,  and  that 
but  for  his  failure  to  find  his  own  men  at  their  appointed 
place  that  night  he  would  have  returned  and  gobbled  us 
all  up,  as  he  fully  intended  to  do  when  he  left  me  so  un- 
ceremoniously as  soon  as  I  fell  into  the  deep  sleep  of  in- 
nocence. It  was  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  before  I 
reached  camp  with  the  rations,  tents,  and  cooking  uten- 
sils for  which  the  regiment  had  waited,  fasting,  and  the 
varied  assortment  of  cursing  I  had  to  endure  made  a 
truly  profound  impression.  But  when  I  received  Mor- 
gan's message,  and  fully  realized  what  a  monumental 
blunder  I  had  made,  I  think  my  eyes  were  both  perma- 
nently opened  to  their  full  natural  capacity.  Leastwise, 
in  all  my  subsequent  travels,  through  the  highways  and 


ADDRESS  BY  CAPTAIN  HENRY  A.  CASTLE.        \l^ 

byways  of  many  cities,  no    long-lost  cousin  or  other 
variety  of  confidence  man  has  ever  tried  to  close  them. 

When  next  our  march  was  resumed  a  few  days  after 
this  wellnigh  tragic  ej)isode,  my  immediate  superior,  the 
regimental  quartermaster,  either  from  a  desire  to  ease 
my  official  burdens,  or  from  a  well-founded  doubt  of 
my  trustworthiness  as  superintendent  of  mule-whackers 
in  the  enemy's  country,  kindly  informed  me  that  he 
would  manage  the  wagon-train  himself  for  a  few  days, 
and  that  I  might  march  with  the  regiment,  and  per- 
form whatever  light  duties  would  devolve  uj)on  him 
were  he  present.  No  duties  devolved  during  the  first 
day's  march ;  I  had  a  pleasant  ride,  and  was  congratu- 
lating myself  on  a  surcease  of  vexation,  when,  as  we 
filed  into  camp  about  sunset,  the  colonel  notified  me 
that  it  was  my  province  to  supjDly  the  daily  ration  of 
fresh  beef  for  the  regiment.  How  or  where  it  was  to 
be  procured  he  did  not  know,  and  left  me  to  find  out. 
Up  to  that  time  I  had  never  chanced  to  see  the  then 
brigade  or  division  commanders.  I  had  had  no  busi- 
ness at  their  headquarters ;  had  felt  no  special  curiosity 
concerning  them,  and,  strange  to  say,  neither  of  them 
had  taken  pains  to  hunt  me  out  and  cultivate  my  ac- 
quaintance. Nevertheless,  I  naturally  sought  the  bri- 
gade quartermaster,  which,  as  we  marched  by  divisions, 
was  no  difficult  task.  I  found  the  ex-bartender  from 
St.  Louis,  who  occupied  this  post,  lolling  against  a  tree 
near  at  hand  puffing  his  pipe,  and  soon  learned,  to  my 
consternation,  that  it  was  none  of  his  duty  to  instruct 
acting  sergeants  in  theirs.  Reporting  this  discour- 
aging discovery  to  my  colonel,  he  advised  me  to  find 
the  division  quartermaster  and  state  my  dilemma  to 


IIQ         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

him,  adding  that  the  higher  I  went  up  in  the  army  the 
more  courtesy  I  might  expect  in  transacting  legitimate 
business.  Accordingly,  I  galloped  off  to  a  row  of 
white  tents  pitched  in  an  old  orchard,  which  I  was 
told  was  the  headquarters  for  the  night  of  the  division 
general  and  staff.  By  mistake  I  came  up  to  the  tents 
from  the  rear,  and  saw  only  one  individual  in  sight,  a 
careless  but  keen-looking  little  man,  about  thirty  years 
old,  with  his  pants  tucked  in  his  boots,  no  coat  on,  a 
black  hat  canted  on  one  side  of  his  head,  and  a  cigar 
projecting  upwards  at  an  acute  angle  from  his  lips. 
He  was  sitting  on  a  stump,  enjoying  the  sunset  breezes, 
in  manifest  comfort.  I  promj^tly  sized  him  up  for  a 
headquarters'  clerk,  and  riding  straight  at  him,  asked 
him  which  was  the  division  quartermaster's  tent.  My 
horse  nearly  ran  into  him,  and  as  he  drew  back  his 
feet  he  said,  pleasantly,  "  Who  the  hell  are  you,  any- 
how ?"  "  Oh,"  said  I,  bridling  up  a  little,  "  I'm  a 
high  private  of  respectable  parentage,  like  yourself,  I 
suppose,  but  you  seem  to  have  a  better  detail  than  I 
have,  anyhow ;  I  am  only  an  acting  quartermaster  ser- 
geant, and  I  can't  afford  a  white  shirt  like  that."  He 
laughed  and  asked,  "What  do  you  want?"  "The 
quartermaster."  "  Yes ;  but  what  do  you  want  of 
him  ?"  I  was  about  to  say  it  was  none  of  his  business 
and  ride  on,  but  suspecting  that  he  might  be  the  clerk 
in  that  oJBfice  and  that  I  would  possibly  have  to  come 
back  to  him  after  all,  I  concluded  to  be  reasonably 
polite,  and,  throwing  my  tired  leg  over  the  horn  of  my 
saddle,  told  him  in  a  few  words  what  I  wanted.  He 
said  he  could  tell  me  all  about  that,  and  proceeded  to 
give  me  minute  instructions  about  detailing  butchers, 


ADDRESS  BY  CAPTAIN  HENRY  A.   CASTLE.        Hy 

going  to  the  division  herd,  selecting  animals,  slaugh- 
tering, dividing,  issuing,  etc.,  all  of  which,  under  recent 
arrangements,  had  to  be  done  every  night  on  going  into 
camp,  to  provide  beef  for  next  day's  march.  He 
spent  fifteen  minutes  in  giving  me  explicit  and  valuable 
instructions  on  that  little,  but  really  important,  matter, 
and  I  was  surprised  both  at  his  interest  in  the  subject 
and  his  familiarity  with  it.  Just  as  he  finished,  and  I 
was  getting  my  foot  back  into  its  stirrup,  a  stiff,  uni- 
formed officer  with  the  straps  of  a  major  came  out 
from  between  the  tents,  and  with  a  formal  salute  to 
my  interlocutor  held  out  a  paper  and  said,  "  General 
Sheridan,  I  want  your  instructions  on  this  matter." 
Before  giving  audience  to  him,  the  general  turned  to 
me  with  a  quizzical  smile,  as  I  briefly  apologized  for 
the  informalities  of  my  address,  and  said  that  a  general 
with  his  coat  off  could  exact  no  deference,  that  he 
intended  every  officer  and  soldier  in  his  command 
should  be  thoroughly  informed  as  to  his  duties,  and  he 
wanted  it  generally  understood  that  he  was  never  too 
busy  to  give  any  information  he  possessed  to  any  of 
them,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  This  was  my 
first  sight  of  and  my  first  interview  with  General 
Philip  H.  Sheridan,  who  remained  in  command  of  the 
division  to  which  our  regiment  was  attached  until  he 
went  East  with  Grant  in  1864,  and  who  always  ex- 
hibited the  same  knowledge  of,  interest  in,  and  atten- 
tion to  every  detail  of  organization  and  equipment, 
supply  and  discipline,  connected  with  his  command. 
His  subsequent  splendid  career  was  a  surprise  to  every- 
body in  the  country  except  the  men  who  had  served 
under  him. 


118         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

We  reached  Nashville  early  in  November,  relieving 
the  beleaguered  garrison  under  Negley  and  Palmer,  and 
within  a  few  days  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  now 
commanded  by  General  Kosecrans,  was  concentrated  in 
and  around  that  city.  Nashville  was  amply  protected 
by  frowning  fortifications  on  the  surrounding  heights. 
Her  beautiful  white  marble  capitol,  on  so  lofty  an  emi- 
nence that  sometimes  seen  from  a  distance  it  seemed  to 
swing  in  the  clouds,  was  a  sight  ever  to  be  remem- 
bered. We  were  finally  encamped  south  of  the  city, 
and  for  the  first  time  in  our  experience  really  settled 
down  to  habitual  camp  routine,  devoting  six  weeks 
to  the  long-deferred  requisites  of  organization,  drill, 
and  discipline.  All  the  lights  and  shadows  of  camp- 
life  there  passed  over  us.  Our  veterans  of  one  long 
campaign  and  one  bloody  battle  were  yet  raw  recruits 
in  most  that  pertained  to  military  life.  They  had 
much  to  learn  and  more  to  suffer.  They  got  up  the 
harmless,  necessary  mutiny  against  shelter-tents  and 
spoiled  meats,  and  were  suppressed  with  alacrity ;  a 
good  many  of  them  had  the  smallpox,  and  a  consid- 
erable majority  of  them  had  the  measles, — the  latter 
epidemic  causing  more  deaths  and  disabilities  than 
battle,  march,  and  dysentery  combined  had  been  able 
to  effect.  Drills  almost  incessant,  grand  guard  duty  at 
least  bi-weekly,  scoutings,  foraging  raids,  and  sporadic 
expeditions  left  little  time  for  rusting  or  resting,  but 
soon  made  soldiers  of  the  farmer  boys  and  clerks  and 
students.  We  became  hardened,  roughened,  and  tough- 
ened physically.  As  winter  approached,  as  the  hard- 
ships increased  and  our  comforts  disappeared,  a  squad 
of  us  would  frequently  refer  to  our  luxurious  entry  into 


ADDRESS  BY  CAPTAIN  HENRY  A.  CASTLE.        HQ 

the  service.  We  had  spent  the  night  before  enlisting 
at  the  Chenery  House,  the  leading  hotel  at  Springfield. 
We  at  the  time  thought  the  transition  sudden,  from 
the  hair  mattresses  of  the  hotel  to  the  bare  plank  of 
a  floored  tent  at  Camp  Butler.  But  now,  alas !  even 
a  dry  plank,  or  a  tent  larger  than  a  chicken-coop,  was 
a  dimly-recollected  luxury.  Mud  and  snow,  occasionally 
qualified  by  a  rubber  blanket  and  a  few  pine-boughs, 
formed  our  nightly  couch,  and  the  weeping,  cloud- 
curtained  heavens  our  most  familiar  canopy. 

While  thus  encamped,  I  was  honored  by  being  ap- 
pointed sergeant-major,  the  highest  rank — if  it  be  a 
"rank" — which  an  "enlisted  man"  can  hold,  and  a 
position,  I  am  free  to  maintain,  as  the  result  of  my 
observation  and  experience,  which  involves  more  ardu- 
ous and  unremitting  toil  than  any  commissioned  ofiice 
in  the  regiment. 

On  December  26, 1862,  we  marched  from  the  picket- 
lines  five  miles  beyond  Nashville,  where  we  had  spent 
a  Christmas  made  lively  by  frequent  rebel  fusillades 
of  artillery,  to  join  the  grand  advance  on  Murfreesboro'. 
Our  corps,  commanded  by  General  A.  McDowell  Mc- 
Cook,  and  consisting  of  Johnson's,  Davis's,  and  Sheri- 
dan's divisions,  constituted  the  right  wing  of  Bosecrans's 
army.  After  five  days  of  almost  constant  advance  under 
fire,  through  rain,  snow,  mud,  and  miscellaneous  discom- 
forts too  familiar  then  to  be  noticeable,  but  remembered 
now  with  wonder  at  human  capacity  for  endurance,  we 
lay  down  in  closed  ranks,  on  Tuesday  night,  December 
30,  fully  aware  that  one  of  the  great  battles  of  the  war 
would  be  fought  on  the  morrow.  Bosecrans  and  Bragg 
confronted  each  other,  with  lines  of  battle  three  miles 


120         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

long,  and  nowhere  more  than  a  few  hundred  yards  apart. 
Both  were  ready  for  the  fray  and  anxious  only  for  the 
hour  of  its  opening.  General  K.  W.  Johnson  com- 
manded the  division  on  the  extreme  right  of  the  Union 
line,  and  General  H.  P.  Van  Cleve  that  on  the  extreme 
left.  Between  them  were  the  divisions  of  Generals 
Wood,  Palmer,  Eousseau,  Negley,  Sheridan,  and  Jeffer- 
son C.  Davis,  in  the  order  named,  divided  into  three 
corps,  commanded  by  Crittenden,  Thomas,  and  Mc- 
Cook  respectively.  The  plan  of  battle,  as  announced 
by  General  Bosecrans  to  his  corps  and  division  com- 
manders Tuesday  evening,  was  for  General  Johnson 
and  his  neighboring  commanders  on  the  right  to  stand 
fast,  hold  their  ground  firmly,  and  resist  the  rebel  onset 
which  was  expected  at  daylight  next  morning,  while 
General  Van  Cleve  should  cross  Stone  Biver,  on  which 
stream  his  left  rested,  and  press  on  to  Murfreesboro'. 
Moving  in  concert  with  him,  the  whole  left  of  the 
army  was  expected  to  advance  and  engage  the  enemy, 
swinging  on  the  right  as  a  pivot;  thus,  if  successful, 
crushing  the  foe,  separating  him  from  his  base,  and 
capturing  the  latter  by  one  simple  and  connected 
movement.  It  was  an  admirable  plan,  but  like  too 
many  others  was  baffled  in  its  execution  by  unforeseen 
if  not  inexphcable  contingencies.  As  the  early  disas- 
ters were  redeemed  by  a  final  and  decisive  triumph, 
they  have  been  generally  forgotten  except  by  those  who 
beheld  them. 

The  history  of  the  great  battle  of  Stone  Biver  has 
been  written  many  times.  I  can  add  nothing  new  or 
valuable  to  the  record,  and  mere  descriptions  of  scenes 
of  carnage  would  be  trite  to  an  auditory  whose  members 


ADDRESS  BY  CAPTAIN  HENRY  A.  CASTLE.       121 

have  commanded,  marched,  and  fought  in  half  the  cam- 
paigns and  battles  of  the  Rebellion.  Within  my  limited 
vision  little  passed  on  that  eventful  day  out  of  the  ordi- 
nary experience  in  such  conflicts.  Yet  after  the  lapse 
of  twenty-three  years  even  its  most  trivial  incidents 
are  burned  indelibly  upon  my  recollection.  We  were 
warned  to  be  ready  for  battle  at  daybreak  on  Wednesday 
morning.  An  hour  before  daybreak  General  Sheridan, 
on  foot  and  alone,  went  the  whole  length  of  his  division 
line,  visited  each  regimental  commander,  saw  personally 
that  the  men  were  aroused  and  under  arms,  posted  his 
artillery,  and  made  everything  ready  well  in  advance  of 
the  period  named  in  his  orders.  Nearly  an  hour  after 
daybreak  the  attack  came  on  Johnson's  division,  a  few 
hundred  yards  to  our  right.  Driven  by  the  overwhelm- 
ing force  of  the  onset,  first  Johnson  and  then  Davis  fell 
back,  throwing  the  augmented  weight  of  the  enemy  on 
Sheridan,  who  was  now  relied  on  to  check  him,  until 
new  disposition  could  be  made  and  the  terrible  disaster 
retrieved.  Sheridan  held  his  ground  until  flanked  and 
pounded  out  of  it,  then  stubbornly  retreated  across  an 
open  cotton-field,  where  he  left  one- third  of  his  men 
killed  and  wounded  and  two  of  his  three  brigade  com- 
manders. When  we  reached  the  dense  cedar  thicket,  our 
regiment  formed  at  its  edge  behind  a  mass  of  logs  and 
stumps,  under  orders  from  General  Kousseau,  who  came 
along  raving  with  excitement  or  liquor,  detached  us  from 
Sheridan's  command  without  the  latter's  knowledge, 
placed  us  in  an  exposed  but  really  efiective  position, 
and  went  off,  leaving  us  to  our  fate.  Here  we  repulsed 
several  desperate  charges  of  the  triumphant  rebel  hosts, 
remaining  until  again  flanked  and  nearly  captured,  when 


122         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

we  fell  back  slowly  through  the  thick  cedars  without 
orders,  purpose,  or  a  ray  of  knowledge  as  to  what  was 
transpiring  outside  the  limits  of  our  short  line  of  sight. 
Under  us  the  surface  was  piled  with  rocks  and  rent  with 
caverns.  Above  us  the  thick  green  foliage  intercepted 
the  sunlight.  Around  us,  at  every  point  of  the  com- 
pass seemingly,  the  roar  of  battle  was  deafening,  at  an 
unseen,  though  not  great  distance,  while  nearer,  as  far 
as  we  could  see,  the  woods  were  filled  with  disorgan- 
ized masses  of  troops,  flying  they  knew  not  whence  or 
whither,  but  utterly  panic-stricken  and  uncontrollable. 
Our  regiment  kept  well  in  line  as  it  fell  slowly  back, 
but  all  around  us,  and  often  breaking  through  us,  was 
a  yelling  mob,  officers  weeping  or  swearing,  soldiers 
demoralized  and  shivering.  If  there  was  anything  more 
disgraceful  at  Bull  Run  than  the  scenes  I  witnessed  in 
those  cedars,  I  have  not  seen  it  described,  and  yet  half 
an  hour  later,  on  emerging  into  the  open  field  and  the 
sunshine,  those  same  men  gathered  together  and  fell  into 
ranks  so  promptly,  fought  through  the  remainder  of  the 
battle  and  the  remainder  of  the  war  so  heroically,  that 
this  little  episode,  even  to  the  few  who  ever  heard  of  it, 
was  but  a  fly-speck  upon  the  record  of  their  achieve- 
ments. When  we  had  nearly  passed  through  those  cedar 
woods  we  were  found  by  an  aide  sent  by  Sheridan,  who 
had  finally  missed  us,  marched  to  our  assigned  place  in 
the  reorganized  and  thenceforth  impregnable  line  of 
battle,  where  we  resumed  our  bloody  work  under  more 
favorable  auspices.  It  was  now  only  ten  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon,  so  rapidly  had  events  proceeded. 

The  battle  raged  with  undiminished  fury  until  night- 
fall, and  those  who  remember  the  honors  won  there  by 


ADDRESS  BY  CAPTAIN  HENRY  A.  CASTLE.        123 

our  division  commander  will  realize  the  active  part  his 
soldiers  bore  in  it.  For  myself,  I  soon  found  that  the 
position  of  sergeant-major  in  a  battle  is  no  sinecure. 
You,  who  know  how  much  of  the  fighting  of  the  war 
was  done  by  soldiers  lying  flat  on  their  stomachs,  or 
sheltered  behind  some  slight  protection,  know  the  addi- 
tional risks  which  extra  exposure  brought.  The  sol- 
diers and  line  officers  are  lying  down  behind  a  low 
crest  of  swelling  ground,  loading  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
rising  to  their  knees  and  firing  at  the  enemy  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  distant  behind  a  rail-fence.  The  noise  is 
incessant  and  impenetrable.  A  staff  officer  dashes  up 
with  an  order  for  the  major  commanding  the  regiment, 
stationed  behind  a  tree  a  little  to  the  rear,  to  move  his 
command  to  another  position.  The  major  calls  to  the 
adjutant  behind  a  smaller  tree  on  his  right  and  com- 
municates the  order.  The  adjutant  motions  to  the  ser- 
geant-major behind  a  stump  far  to  the  left.  The  latter 
has  no  subordinate  to  fall  back  on,  so  he  must  leave  his 
sheltering  stump,  run  to  the  adjutant  while  the  rebel 
bullets  hum  like  a  swarm  of  bees  around  and  above 
his  head,  get  the  order,  then  perhaps  run  to  each  com- 
pany commander,  shake  him  up  and  shout  it  into  his 
ear,  before  the  line  can  be  moved.  I  was  the  sergeant- 
major  !  I  carried  a  gun  only  an  hour  or  so ;  I  fired  it 
perhaps  a  score  of  times ;  I  do  not  know,  for  a  cer- 
tainty, that  I  killed  a  single  one  of  Jeff  Davis's  myr- 
midons, though  I  aimed  directly  at  some  of  them  at 
exceedingly  short  range.  But  I  am  sure  that  if  there 
is  any  merit  in  posing  for  one  whole,  long  day,  as  a 
supremely  extra-hazardous  risk  for  a  life  insurance 
company,  I  am  entitled  to  a  small  chromo  on  that  ac- 


124         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

count.  At  any  rate,  I  was  kept  so  busy  tliat  I  had  no 
time  to  think  of  getting  scared  until  late  in  the  day 
after  I  was  wounded,  when  my  courage  collapsed  en- 
tirely,— but  that  is  later  on.  About  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  we  got  into  a  hotter  place  than  even 
the  cotton-field  of  the  morning.  Sheridan  placed  his 
division  on  the  protruding  front  of  the  grand  battle 
line,  and  my  regiment  was  sent  into  a  railroad  cut 
which  crossed  that  line  at  an  oblique  angle,  our  left 
well  advanced  towards  the  enemy.  I  was  at  my  place 
on  the  extreme  left,  and  while  the  men  were  firing 
effectively  from  their  protected  position,  I  naturally 
kept  a  weather  eye  out  towards  the  foe  on  our  exposed 
flank.  After  a  time  I  saw  a  rebel  ofiicer  ride  up  to  a 
point  where  a  highway  crossed  our  railroad,  a  few  hun- 
dred yards  away,  gaze  at  us  a  moment,  and  then  gallop 
off.  I  smelled  a  rat !  I  watched  the  spot  closely,  and 
soon  saw  a  rebel  battery  come  up  to  it.  I  started 
promptly  for  the  centre  of  the  regiment  to  notify  the 
major,  but  heard  that  he  had  just  been  carried  off 
wounded.  I  then  ran  to  the  right  to  find  the  adjutant, 
and  learned  that  he  too  had  retired  for  the  same  reason. 
I  assumed  the  responsibility  of  marching  Company 
"  A"  double-quick  out  of  the  defile,  trusting  the  rest 
to  follow,  which  they  did  with  alacrity,  as  just  then  the 
shells  came  shrieking  through  the  straight  and  narrow 
gorge  with  a  venom  that  would  have  left  few  unscathed 
in  five  minutes  more.  I  led  the  column  under  a  very 
hot  fire  to  a  position  with  the  remainder  of  the  brigade, 
but  neglected  to  bring  it  around  by  countermarch,  or 
on  right  by  file  into  line.  I  simply  "  about  faced"  the 
men  towards  the  enemy,  leaving  the  right  of  the  line 


ADDEESS  BY  CAPTAIN  HENRY  A.  CASTLE.        125 

where  the  left  should  have  been, — a  tactical  blunder 
which  caused  some  confusion  a  little  later,  and  which 
was  the  only  bitter  drop  in  my  brimming  cup  of  self- 
congratulation  over  a  ten  minutes'  undisputed,  because 
unsuspected,  command  of  the  regiment.  I  then  notified 
the  four  remaining  captains  that  they  were  without  a 
commander.  Being  all  of  equal  rank,  they  sent  me  to 
the  brigade  commander.  Colonel  Schaeffer,  of  St.  Louis, 
sitting  on  his  horse  two  hundred  yards  in  the  rear, 
with  a  request  to  come  and  settle  the  matter  of  prece- 
dence. I  started  towards  him,  but  before  I  had  made 
half  the  distance  he,  the  last  of  Sheridan's  brigade 
commanders,  was  shot  before  my  eyes,  and  fell  to  the 
ground  a  corpse.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Liabold,  also  of 
St.  Louis,  the  sole  remaining  field  ofiicer  in  the  brigade, 
at  once  assumed  its  command,  and  soon  settled  matters 
in  our  regiment.  More  hard  fighting  and  heavy  losses 
ensued.  Finally,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
Sheridan's  ammunition  being  entirely  gone,  and  his 
men  exhausted  by  fatigue  and  thirst  (for  although  it 
was  the  last  day  of  the  year,  the  temperature  was  too 
warm  for  comfortable  exertion),  Kosecrans  sent  another 
division  to  our  relief,  and  we  were  withdrawn  a  short 
distance  to  the  rear,  having,  as  it  turned  out,  finished 
our  fighting  for  that  day.  Very  shortly  after  reaching 
this  comparatively  safe  position  I  met  my  fate.  A 
partially-spent  ball,  from  the  distant  rebel  line,  crashed 
into  my  left  hand,  lodging  near  the  bones  of  the  wrist. 
My  hand  was  at  the  time  lying  carelessly  across  my 
stomach,  and  I  distinctly  felt  that  ball  pass  entirely 
through  my  body  and  out  near  the  spinal  column. 
This,  I  knew,  was  certain  death,  but  I  yielded  without 


126         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

a  murmur.     I  had  been  expecting  it  rather  than  other- 
wise all  day,  and  I  was  neither  surprised  nor  shocked. 
In  a  moment  I  raised  my  hand,  saw  that  the  ball  had 
not  passed   through,   and   realized  that  I  still  had  a 
chance  for  life.     In  another  moment  I  would  have  sold 
that  chance  for  a  shilling.     The  pain  was  intense  and 
the  blood  flowed  freely,  which  was  disheartening  enough. 
But  when  I  reflected  that  in  order  to  reach  a  hospital  I 
would  be  obliged  to  scud  through  the  shower  of  shell 
and  grape  which  had  been  hooting  over  our  heads  and 
falling  behind  us,  I  was  paralyzed  with  fear.     It  was  a 
nervous  collapse,  caused,  no  doubt,  by  i\\Q  reaction  of 
the  sudden  pain  upon  the  state  of  unconscious  excite- 
ment and  exaltation  in  which  I  had  existed  for  several 
hours.     I  managed,  however,  to  conceal  a  good  deal  of 
it  from  my  kind  and  solicitous  comrades,  and  slowly 
worked  my  way,  unaided,  to  the  nearest  surgeon's  sta- 
tion.    Here  the  ball,  weighing  over  an  ounce,  was  im- 
mediately extracted,  the  wound  bandaged,  and  here,  in 
the  midst  of  hundreds  of  dead  and  dying,  I  received 
every  care  which  skill  and  tenderness   could   bestow. 
On  the  battle-field  surrounded  by  the  fighting  we  re- 
mained until  the  final  victory  was  won  four  days  later. 
The  pains  and  privations  endured,  the  scenes  of  misery, 
of  torture,  and  of  hideous  death  passed  through,  were 
enough  to  appall  the  stoutest  and  blunt  the  sensibilities 
of  the  most  refined.      The  rains  descended,  the  cold 
winds  and   frosts  came  next,   and   the   five   thousand 
wounded,  all  collected  in  an  unsheltered  farm-yard  of  a 
few  acres'  extent,  furnished  a  combination  of  unspeaka- 
ble agonies  and  unimaginable  horrors  such  as  no  pencil 
can  paint.     Relief  came  only  when  the  rebels  retreated 


ADDRESS  BY  CAPTAIN  HENRY  A.  CASTLE.        127 

on  Sunday.  Then  we  were  sent  back  to  Nashville, 
thirty  miles  distant,  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  placed 
in  the  large  general  hospitals  provided  for  our  recej)tion. 
My  own  wound,  so  slight  compared  with  hundreds  of 
others,  was  a  serious  matter  to  me.  I  was  entitled  to 
an  immediate  discharge,  as  the  disability  was  perma- 
nent, and  the  surgeons  then  predicted  what  afterwards 
proved  true,  that  it  woukl  not  even  be  healed  for  ten 
months.  But  shortly  after  the  battle  I  was  appointed 
adjutant  of  the  regiment,  and  informed  that  on  being 
mustered  in  I  could  obtain  a  leave  of  absence  until 
able  for  duty  again.  I  waited  three  long  months  in 
hospitals  at  Nashville  and  Louisville  for  the  commission 
that  never  came.  The  former  adjutant  had  been  ap- 
pointed major  over  the  heads  of  the  captains,  who  suc- 
cessfully combined  to  prevent  the  issue  of  his  commis- 
sion. I  then  accepted  a  discharge, — and  thus  ended  my 
service  as  an  "  enlisted  man."  It  may  be  mentioned  as 
one  of  the  mysteries  of  fate,  luck,  or  Providence,  that 
the  adjutant  resigned  very  soon  after  my  discharge,  and 
that  two  of  my  dearest  friends,  Comrades  of  my  own 
age,  successively  appointed  to  succeed  him,  were  both 
killed  in  the  next  two  battles  in  which  the  regiment 
was  engaged. 

Having  disclaimed  in  advance  the  idea  that  there  was 
anything  remarkable  in  this  record,  I  need  not  now 
apologize  for  its  tameness.  My  youthful  alter  ego  was 
no  prodigy,  but  he  was  perhaps  typical  of  a  million 
other  ardent  boys  of  that  epoch, — earnest,  ready,  adapt- 
able, and  easily  satisfied.  At  any  rate,  he  offered  him- 
self freely,  he  shirked  no  duty,  and  he  has  never  since 
seen  the  day  when  he  was  ashamed  of  the  cause  he 


128         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

served,  or  wished  to  forget  the  events  in  which  he  par- 
ticipated. For  those  events,  httle  as  he  affected  them, 
were  of  tremendous  significance,  and  have  exerted  a 
deathless  influence  upon  the  history  of  the  whole 
world. 

When  we  were  toiling  on  the  march,  tossing  in  the 
camp,  and  struggling  on  the  battle-field,  we  were  occa- 
sionally— though  it  must  be  confessed  but  faintly — 
cheered  by  the  recollection  of  how  we  had  been  told  by 
the  silvery-sweet  orators  who  persuaded  us  to  enlist 
that  we  would  not  only  help  to  restore  the  imperilled 
Union  and  unshackle  the  groaning  slave,  but  would 
fight  the  battles  of  liberty  for  the  oppressed  of  every 
land,  and  earn  the  gratitude  of  countless  generations  in 
countries  we  should  never  see.  Twenty  years  have 
elapsed  since  the  war's  triumphant  end,  and  it  is 
amazing  with  what  fidelity  the  rhapsodies  of  the  re- 
cruiting orators  have  been  fulfilled.  We  know  that  the 
Union  has  been  restored.  We  know  that  slavery  has 
been  abolished,  and  that  the  bondsmen  have  become 
citizens.  We  know  that  while  the  war  settled  forever 
the  principle  that  the  nation  is  supreme,  the  processes 
and  perplexities  of  the  reconstruction  period  proved 
with  equal  conclusiveness  that  the  States  are  indestruc- 
tible. We  know  that  the  fair  Southern  land,  which  we 
fought  to  retain  in  the  Union,  and  which  we  thought 
worth  the  sacrifice  of  half  a  million  lives,  will  be  ever- 
more infinitely  more  precious,  since  it  holds  half  a  mil- 
lion patriot  graves,-  each  priceless  sepulchre  a  shrine  of 
loyalty,  which  neither  foreign  foeman  nor  domestic 
traitor  will  ever  dare  profane.  We  can  all  point  with 
pride,  if  not  all  with  unmixed  satisfaction,  to  the  sig- 


ADDRESS  BY  CAPTAIN  HENRY  A.  CASTLE.        129 

nificant,  the  pregnant  fact,  that  our  victory  for  the 
Union  was  so  resplendent,  so  absolute,  so  unquestion- 
able, so  irreversible,  that  less  than  twenty  years  after 
the  close  of  the  conflict  a  constitutional  majority  of  the 
American  people  felt  it  safe  to  restore  the  executive 
control  of  their  government  largely  to  the  very  men 
who  had  fought  to  destroy  it.  We  know  that  our 
country  has  marched  with  giant  strides  in  material  de- 
velopment since  the  war,  and  largely  in  consequence  of 
it ;  for  who  believes  that  four  lines  of  railway  would  by 
this  time  have  spanned  the  continent  if  the  war  had 
not  been  fought,  or  any  line  at  all,  if  the  EebelHon  had 
succeeded  ? 

We  know  all  these  facts  and  duly  appreciate  them, 
but  it  is  only  on  deeper  reflection  and  a  wider  observa- 
tion of  the  thronging  events  of  contemporary  history 
that  we  realize  what  grand  advancement  has  been  made 
by  other  nations  during  the  past  two  decades,  and  how 
potent  the  influence  thereon  of  the  victorious  achieve- 
ments on  our  Southern  battle-fields. 

The  Dominion  of  Canada,  our  nearest  neighbor  and 
our  best,  in  1865  a  collection  of  isolated,  weak,  dis- 
cordant provinces,  now  confederated  and  homogeneous, 
ripening  for  an  early  independence  and  a  speedy  sub- 
sequent merger  into  our  expanding  nation.  Mexico, 
then  an  empire,  victim  of  the  last  dastardly  outrage  of 
a  bogas  European  absolutism,  now  rising  by  the  force 
of  our  example  and  contiguity  from  the  wreck  of  her 
dismal  past.  All  South  America  shot  through  and 
across  with  beams  of  enlightenment  and  progress,  from 
Brazil,  where  slavery's  final  fetters  are  being  broken,  to 
the  far  borders  of  Patagonia,  where  the  Argentine  Re- 

9 


130         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

public  has  placed  her  schools  in  the  competent  hands  of 
teachers  trained  in  the  normal  schools  of  Minnesota. 

England,  for  the  first  time  in  1885  granting  an  ap- 
proach to  manhood  suffrage,  and  if  reluctantly,  yet 
inevitably,  yielding  tardy  justice  to  unhappy  Ireland 
under  the  increasing  pressure  of  the  consummate  poli- 
tician of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  half-American, 
Charles  Stewart  Parnell.  English  colonies  on  the  Med- 
iterranean, in  Africa,  in  Persia  and  India,  in  Australia, 
in  New  Zealand,  in  every  zone  and  in  every  sea,  all 
expanding  and  annexing,  rising  and  brightening,  all 
centres  of  liberty,  enlightenment,  and  Christian  civil- 
ization, and  all  j^i'eparing  for  confederation  with  the 
mother-island  into  one  mighty  empire  of  freedom,  or 
for  separation  and  elevation  into  a  world-encircling 
constellation  of  allied  nationalities. 

France,  in  1865  an  empire,  born  in  fraud,  and  death- 
struck  but  still  imposing,  now  a  republic,  risen  through 
humiliations  unutterable  to  a  strength  competent  to  en- 
counter intrigues  without  and  distractions  within,  which 
cruelly  test  and  amply  vindicate  the  inherent  vitality 
of  free  institutions. 

Spain,  once  within  the  interval  a  premature  republic, 
since  a  liberalized  monarchy,  advancing  towards  free- 
dom as  rapidly  as  an  enervated  people  can  endure  the 
transition. 

Italy,  in  1865  a  geographical  expression  for  half  a 
dozen  petty  and  warring  states,  now  a  consolidated  king- 
dom, ruled  by  an  enlightened  monarch  who,  at  the  capi- 
tal of  the  ancient  world,  calmly  confronts  the  protesting 
relics  of  bygone  ecclesiastical  dominion  and  points  to 
his  own  broad  and  deep  fouYidations  in  education,  peace, 


ADDRESS  BY  CAPTAIN  EENRT  A.  CASTLE.        131 

and  industry  for  restoring  the  grandeur  of  imperial 
Rome. 

Germany,  another  consolidation  of  discordant  though 
progressive  kingdoms  into  a  splendid  empire,  now 
awaiting  only  the  death  of  its  venerable  head  and  his 
iron  counsellor  to  throw  oiF  the  spangled  robes  of  abso- 
lutism and  grasp  the  liberalized  destiny  to  which  the 
thrift  and  culture  of  her  people  entitle  her. 

Austria,  taught  in  the  hard  school  of  defeat,  gives  to 
Hungary  that  for  which  Kossuth  fought  with  sword  of 
valor  and  tongue  of  flame,  seeking  no  longer  to  dam  the 
rising  tide  of  freedom,  which  else  had  swept  her  dynasty 
to  dateless  oblivion. 

Russia,  seething  in  the  caldron  of  perpetual  and 
bloody  revolt,  which  probably  retards  rather  than  ad- 
vances the  concessions  which  her  increasingly  liberal 
rulers  would  grant,  has  nevertheless  found  opportunity 
to  abolish  serfdom,  to  stimulate  education,  and  to  widely 
extend  those  works  of  material  improvement  which  are 
everywhere  the  swift  forerunners  of  an  ampler  recogni- 
tion of  human  rights. 

Turkey,  losing  piecemeal  her  outlying  provinces,  and 
steadily  preparing  for  the  inevitable  hour,  not  remote, 
when  even  the  assumed  political  necessities  of  the  pro- 
fessed guardians  of  civilization  can  no  longer  buttress 
the  infamies  of  a  land  where  honesty  is  a  reproach,  de- 
cency a  jest,  and  liberty  a  stranger.  Indeed,  Eastern 
Europe  is  coming  to  the  fore,  and  there  are  those  daring 
enough  to  predict  that  the  Slavonic  races,  in  the  near 
future,  will  snatch  the  supremacy  which  has  for  two 
thousand  years  been  held  successively  by  the  Latin  and 
Teutonic  tribes,  and  turn  their  tremendous  physical  en- 


X32         GLIMPSES   OF  TEE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

ergies,  directed  by  awakened  mental  power,  to  the  regen- 
eration of  the  regions  they  ah-eady  dominate,  whereof 
the  narrowino;  realm  of  the  Sultan  is  the  natural  and 
traditional  focus. 

Even  the  Asian  peoples  have  been  stirred  by  the  events 
of  the  past  twenty  years,  and  as  our  war's  immortal  hero, 
in  his  wondrous  tour  of  triumph  around  the  globe,  met 
the  princes  and  the  people  of  these  golden  orient  lands, 
he  found  no  man  ignorant  of  his  personal  fame,  or  of 
the  spirit  of  the  great  cause  he  personified,  and  he  found 
all  men  eager  to  learn  the  story  of  our  freedom's  value 
and  its  cost  from  his  trusted  lips, — until  in  China  and 
Japan  he  gave  lessons  in  government  and  diplomacy  to 
the  imperial  descendants  of  the  Sun,  which  have  already 
borne  fruit  in  such  astonishing  progress  as  no  previous 
decade  or  century  has  witnessed. 

All  these  long  marches  towards  freedom  by  the  lead- 
ino-  nations  of  the  earth  have  been  made  since  Lee  sur- 
rendered  at  Appomattox,  all  have  been  made,  as  it  were, 
under  orders  of  the  silent  soldier,  truly  silent  now,  alas ! 
and  forever,  the  echoes  of  whose  voice,  to  us,  at  least,  are 
still  "  heard  in  rolling  drums  that  beat  to  battle  where 
he  stands."  For  who  can  believe  that  all  this  progress 
would  have  been  made  if  our  war  had  never  been  fought? 
Who  can  believe  that  any  of  it  would  have  been  made 
in  the  now  unthinkable  contingency  that  the  Eebellion 
had  succeeded!  Hence  to  have  borne  an  honorable 
though  an  individually  unappreciable  part  on  the  win- 
ning side  and  the  right  side  of  a  contest  that  carried 
with  it  such  tremendous  consequences  is  something  of 
which  one  may  be  justly  proud.  In  this  vast  sum-total 
of  effort,  of  achievement  and  of  sacrifice,  no  man  other 


ADDRESS  BY  CAPTAIX  HENRY  A.   CASTLE.        133 

than  the  favored  and  gifted  two  or  three  ultimate  leaders 
did  more  than  an  infinitesimal  share.  From  the  corps 
commander  to  the  man  who  bore  the  musket,  no  indi- 
vidual can  claim  or  expect  more  than  a  fragmentary- 
fraction  of  the  grand  aggregate  of  honor.  And  the 
differences  in  value  of  these  fractions  are  so  microscopic, 
that  the  general  or  the  captain  or  the  corporal,  who 
claims  more  than  his  fellow,  becomes  a  just  object  of 
suspicion,  of  ridicule,  and  of  contempt.  "  Comrades  of 
the  Flag !"  were  we ;  and  those  only  rank  in  sacrifice 
and  in  glory  who  went  up  on  chariots  of  fire  through 
the  crimson  battle-clouds  to  a  priority  of  honor  in  the 
battalions  of  the  blessed.  But  we  may  all,  without  dis- 
tinction of  rank,  fairly  congratulate  ourselves  that  we 
bore  an  honorable  relation  to  the  greatest  events  of  the 
nineteenth  century, — perhaps  of  any  century.  And  we 
can  all,  without  distinction  of  rank,  freely  rejoice  that 
Liberty  and  Christianity  are  marching  faster  and 
stronger  round  and  round  this  whirling  planet  from 
the  impulse  we  help  to  give  them  ;  rejoice  when  we  read 
that  in  remote  cabins  of  Liberia,  in  thatched  huts  on 
the  slimy  banks  of  the  Ganges,  in  the  untrod  fastnesses 
of  the  dark  African  continent,  the  portraits  of  Lincoln 
and  Grant  are  found, — cherished,  revered,  almost  wor- 
shipped by  their  humble  possessors;  concealed  some- 
times from  brutal  taskmasters,  as  in  the  dark  and  dis- 
mal prison-pens  our  own  starving  comrades  hid  the  flag 
of  the  Union  in  their  bosoms,  to  be  brought  out  only  in 
secret,  and  covered  with  kisses  and  tears. 

"We  have  lived  and  moved  and  acted  in  a  grand  and  awful  time, 
In  an  age  on  ages  telling,  when  existence  is  sublime. 


134         GLIMPSES  OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

For  humanity  sweeps  onward !    Where  to-day  the  martyr  stands, 
On  the  morrow  crouches  Judas  with  the  silver  in  his  hands. 
Far  in  front  the  cross  stands  ready,  and  the  crackling  fagots 

burn, 
While  the  howling  mobs  of  yesterday  in  speechless  awe  return, 
To  glean  up  the  scattered  fragments  into  history's  marble  urn. 


PERSONAL  OBSERVATIONS  AND  EXPERIENCES 

IN    THE 

POPE  OAMPAIGI^  IN"  YIPGINIA. 

BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  LEASUEE, 

ONE    HUNDREDTH    ("  ROUNDHEADS")    PENNSYLVANIA   INFANTRY,   U.  S.  VOLUNTEERS. 


Immediately  following  the  incidents  I  am  about  to 
narrate  as  part  of  my  experiences  in  the  Pope  campaign, 
a  train  of  circumstances  occurred  that  precluded  my 
making  any  official  report,  and  now,  for  the^rs^  time, 
after  the  lapse  of  a  quarter  of  a  century,  I  call  them 
into  the  light  of  day  from  the  recesses  of  memory,  cor- 
rected by  such  dates  and  papers  as  are  at  my  command. 
The  circumstances  alluded  to  are  these : 

At  the  battle  of  the  second  Bull  E,un,  on  the  29th 
of  August,  1862,  I  was  very  severely  wounded,  and  for 
weeks  was  confined  to  my  bed,  utterly  incapacitated  for 
any  work. 

Less  than  one  hundred  hours  after  the  battle  of  the 
29th  Generals  Stevens  and  Kearney  were  killed,  and  in 
a  fortnight  General  Peno  was  killed,  and  as  all  my  ser- 
vice in  that  campaign  was  in  close  connection  with  the 
operations  of  those  officers,  and  under  their  personal' 
command  and  direction,  and  as  my  recovery  from  my 
wound  so  as  to  be  fit  for  duty  occurred  after  General 

135 


136         GLIMPSES   OF  TEE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

Pope  had  been  assigned  to  a  distant  command,  and  my 
late  command  had  been  reorganized,  I  had  no  one  to 
^vhom  to  report,  and  was  never  called  on  to  report  my 
share  in  the  operations  and  those  of  my  late  command, 
so  that  what  I  have  to  say  in  this  paper  is,  so  far  as  I 
am  concerned,  nearly  entirely  new  matter,  and  it  must 
necessarily  cover  some  of  the  operations  of  my  late 
chief.  General  Isaac  I.  Stevens,  who  was  killed  before 
he  had  time  or  opportunity  to  make  a  detailed  report  of 
the  operations  of  his  command,  of  which  mine  formed 
a  part. 

I  do  this  very  reluctantly,  at  the  special  request  of 
our  honored  Commander  of  this  Commandery,  General 
John  B.  Sanborn.  Reluctantly,  because  the  roll  of  a 
raconteur  is  not  congenial  to  my  feelings,  where  I  know 
that,  as  in  every  such  instance,  the  relator  must,  to  some 
extent,  seem  to  be  the  hero  of  his  own  story.  But  there 
is  reason  for  believing  that  much  of  the  inner  history 
of  the  smaller  commands  that  constituted  the  great 
armies  of  the  Union  will  be  lost  for  the  very  cause  I 
mention  for  my  own  reluctance ;  and  it  has  been  rep- 
resented to  me  that  I  owe  it  to  the  memory  of  the  dead, 
to  their  survivors,  and  to  those  still  living  who  bore 
honorable  part  in  the  events  of  that  long  ago,  so  full 
of  history  and  of  pathos,  to  risk  the  charge  of  egotism 
and  speak  for  others  in  speaking  for  myself 

The  plans  of  campaigns,  including  the  mobilization 
of  armies,  tactics,  strategy,  and  logistics,  can  only  be 
written  by  officers  in  high  command,  and  their  recitals 
and  descriptions  are  necessarily  concerning  corps  and 
divisions  operating  in  concert  to  attain  a  desired  result. 

This  seems  now  to  be  in  a  fair  way  of  accomplish- 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  LEASURE.       137 

ment  through  the  able  monographs  of  officers  iu  high 
command  in  both  armies,  as  published  in  the  popular 
journals  of  the  day,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  men 
who  wielded  minor  commands  may  be  induced  to  follow 
my  example. 

Many  of  the  commanders  of  small  divisions,  brigades, 
and  regiments  are  dead,  and  their  testimony  to  the  con- 
duct of  the  men  composing  their  commands  is  lost  to 
history ;  and  in  attempting  to  speak  in  this  paper  of 
events  so  long  past,  I  shall  endeavor  to  merit  the  ap- 
proval of  surviving  comrades  who  participated  in  the 
same  operations,  and  the  officers  under  whom  I  served, 
as  to  justify  my  truth  in  the  narrative,  and  I  hope  that 
it  will  be  said  of  me  by  them  that  I  have  rather  fallen 
under  than  above  the  merits  of  the  services  rendered. 
There  is  also  a  certain  fascination  in  the  public  mind 
relative  to  the  personal  experiences  of  men  who  bore 
even  subordinate  parts  in  the  recent  great  events,  be- 
cause it  brings  nearer  to  the  hearts  of  the  people  the 
personal  experiences  and  exploits  of  every  soldier  in 
armies  emphatically  composed  of  the  people  themselves, 
and  the  public  will  forgive  a  seeming  egotism  of  an 
officer  whose  descriptions  are  the  recital  of  acts  of 
heroism  or  endurance  participated  in  by  the  rank  and 
file  of  the  great  Union  armies,  where,  if  it  was  ever 
true  of  the  rank  and  file  of  any  army,  it  was  true  of 
these,  that  "  the  bayonets  think."  Tens  of  thousands 
of  estimable,  upright,  scholarly  men  carried  muskets 
and  wielded  sabres,  or  pointed  the  red-throated  death- 
dealing  artillery. 

It  has  been  said  that  in  armies  in  the  field  in  time  of 
war  "the  brigade  is  the  unit;"  and  it  is  mainly  true,  if 


138         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

we  remember  that,  as  ordinarily  composed,  it  forms  as 
large  a  command  as  can  be  handled  in  battle  by  a  single 
commander,  or  influenced  by  his  j^ersonal  magnetism ; 
such  a  command  was  mine  in  the  Army  of  Virginia  in 
the  Pope  campaign. 

My  rank  was  something  out  of  the  ordinary,  owing 
to  the  method  in  which  I  entered  the  service  for  three 
years.  By  direct  authority  of  Secretary  of  War  Cam- 
eron, issued  to  me  on  mustering  out  of  the  three  months' 
service,  I  raised  a  regiment,  consisting  of  twelve  compa- 
nies, in  a  few  days,  and  was  mustered  into  the  service 
with  it  as  its  colonel,  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  on 
the  30th  day  of  August,  1861,  by  direct  order  of  the 
Secretary  of  War,  without  a  commission  from  the  gov- 
ernor of  my  State,  thus  being  in  the  anomalous  position 
of  a  mustered  officer  holding  no  commission,  and  my 
command  an  independent  one.  This  was  done  on  my 
part  through  no  disrespect  to  our  great  war  governor, 
but  through  a  desire  to  escape  the  contemjotible  trading 
of  men  on  the  part  of  officers  to  obtain  field  or  staff 
positions  for  themselves. 

When  mustered  in  I  had  neither  field  nor  staff  officer 
save  a  chaplain  and  an  assistant  surgeon,  and  the  field 
and  staff  I  filled  in  from  selections  I  myself  made  from 
officers  of  the  line.  Not  one  of  the  officers  of  that  regi- 
ment held  a  commission,  and  we  had  been  many  months 
in  the  field  and  had  fought  in  two  battles  and  some  of 
the  officers  were  killed  before,  at  the  request  of  the 
Secretary  of  War,  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  sent 
us  our  commissions,  dated  back  to  the  28th  of  August, 
1861,  the  day  of  our  rendezvous  at  Pittsburg,  and  we 
received  our  numbe]*  in  the  line  of  Pennsylvania  troops, 


ADDEESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  LEASURE.       139 

one  hundredth,  instead  of  twenty-ninth,  our  number  by 
date  of  muster ;  up  to  that  time  the  regiment  bore  the 
name  given  to  it  by  Secretary  Cameron,  tlie  "  Round- 
head" Kegiment,  by  which  name  it  is  borne  on  all  its 
original  rolls  and  in  all  official  relations  with  the  War 
Department.  By  seniority  of  muster  I  ranked  every 
officer  of  my  grade  in  the  command  with  which  I 
served,  and  so  was  liable  at  any  time  to  be  assigned  to 
command  of  a  division,  and  this  seemed  a  sufficient 
reason  to  those  under  whom  I  served  to  place  many 
secrets  in  my  keeping  that  would  be  of  use  to  me  in 
case  of  any  sudden  assumption  of  higher  command 
being  thrust  upon  me  by  the  exigencies  of  the  service. 
I  mention  these  things  now  to  explain  something  that 
might  seem  incongruous  between  my  rank  and  my  com- 
mand under  certain  circumstances. 

In  the  Pope  campaign  my  brigade  consisted  of  two 
regiments,  the  Forty-sixth  New  York,  or  the  Fremont 
E-egiment,  which  was  a  German  regiment  commanded 
by  Colonel  Carl  Rosa,  and  my  own  regiment.  It  formed 
part  of  the  division  of  General  Isaac  I.  Stevens,  which 
was  composed  of  troops  brought  up  from  South  Caro- 
lina, whither  they  had  gone  in  1861,  in  the  Dupont- 
Sherman  expedition,  and  being  joined  to  those  brought 
up  from  North  Carolina  that  bad  formed  part  of  the 
Burnside  expedition,  constituted  Reno's  command, 
which  afterwards,  having  received  some  additional 
regiments,  became  the  Ninth  Army  Corps,  under  Gen- 
eral Burnside.  General  Stevens's  troops  left  South 
Carolina  on  the  12th  and  13th  of  July,  1862,  and 
rendezvoused  at  Newport  News,  on  the  James  River, 
above  Fortress  Monroe,  on  the  20th  of  July,  where 


X40         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

they  remained  till  the  4th  of  August,  when  they  went 
by  transport  to  Acquia  Creek,  on  the  Potomac  River, 
and  thence  by  rail  to  Fredericksburg,  where  they  were 
united  with  the  troops  brought  up  from  North  Carolina, 
constituting  the  command  of  General  Reno. 

Before  leaving  Newport  News  we  stripped  for  march 
and  battle. 

An  order  from  the  War  Department  had  been  re- 
ceived to  muster  out  all  regimental  bands,  and,  as  the 
instruments  of  my  regimental  band  were  regimental 
property,  we  had  them  carefully  boxed  up  and  stored, 
and  they  were  finally  shipped  to  Washington,  and  long 
afterwards  I  had  them  forwarded  to  me  at  Vicksburg, 
Mississippi,  where  I  had  organized  a  brigade  band, 
made  up  of  details  of  musicians  from  my  command. 
All  overcoats  and  redundant  clothing  excepting  one 
extra  shirt  and  one  pair  of  socks,  and  all  private  prop- 
erty, the  accumulations  of  our  sojourn  in  the  Hunting 
Islands  of  South  Carolina,  were  boxed  up  and  stored. 
Each  man  carried  one  blanket  and  one  shelter-tent,  in 
addition  to  knapsack  and  haversack.  One  wagon  was 
allowed  to  brigade  headquarters  and  one  to  each  regi- 
ment. Extra  stores  and  ammunition  were  carried  in 
the  quartermaster's  train. 

While  at  Newport  News  I  received  from  Governor 
Curtin  my  first  stand  of  regimental  colors,  which  the 
governor  sent  to  me  by  special  messenger,  with  his  ex- 
planations for  their  tardy  delivery,  which  were  alike 
honorable  to  him  and  satisfactory  to  the  regiment.  The 
flag  was  presented  to  the  regiment  by  General  Stevens, 
accompanied  by  a  very  flattering  speech.  Previous  to 
that  time  we  had  used  one  after  another  the  company 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  LEASURE.       141 

flags  that  we  had  brought  out  with  us.  During  our 
stay  at  NewjDort  News,  and  afterwards  at  Fredericks- 
burg, General  Stevens  had  many  private  and  confiden- 
tial talks  with  me,  as  next  in  command,  in  relation  to 
the  campaign  on  which  we  were  about  to  enter.  He 
was  a  small,  slight  man,  very  careless  as  to  dress  and 
personal  appearance,  but  the  very  best  organizer  and 
disciplinarian  I  ever  met.  A  genial,  outspoken  man, 
strong  in  his  likes  and  dislikes,  a  warm  friend  and  a 
bitter,  unrelenting  hater.  He  freely  gave  me  his  opinion 
of  the  prominent  officers  of  both  armies  from  his  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  them  ;  and  as  at  that  time  we  were 
under  the  impression  that  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston 
was  in  command  of  the  forces  opposed  to  General  Pope, 
he  stated  that  in  his  opinion  Joe  Johnston  had  not  a 
superior  in  either  army  as  a  capable  and  skilful  officer, 
and  predicted  that  we  would  have  some  very  hard  fight- 
ing, with  odds  heavily  against  us,  owing  to  that  officer's 
superior  knowledge  of  all  that  pertained  to  the  art  of 
war.  He  spoke  of  "  Bob  Lee"  in  the  highest  terms, 
but  considered  his  strongest  point  the  engineer  depart- 
ment, and  that  in  the  then  pending  struggle  between 
Lee  and  McClellan  it  would  be  hard  to  tell  what  might 
be  the  result,  for  McClellan  was  also  a  most  excellent 
engineer,  but  it  remained  to  be  seen  if  he  would  prove  a 
good  commander  in  the  open  field.  He  said  that  if 
McClellan  had  men  enough,  and  tools  enough,  and  time 
enough,  he  would  dig  througli  under  Kichmond  and 
come  out  at  the  other  side  if  Lee  did  not  countermine 
him,  but  he  thought  that  Johnston  was  without  a  peer 
in  command  of  an  army  in  the  field. 

General   Stevens   and   I   had   not   been   very   good 


142         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

friends  till  after  the  battle  on  James  Island  in  Soutli 
Carolina,  after  which  I  never  had  a  more  ardent  friend, 
nor  one  in  whose  ability  I  had  more  implicit  confidence. 
He  was  a  man  of  many  resources,  and  was  very  thorough 
in  his  knowledo;e  of  men  and  their  individual  fitness  for 
particular  trusts,  and  of  indomitable  personal  courage. 
On  our  arrival  at  Acquia  Creek  it  was  discovered  that 
my  German  regiment,  the  Forty-sixth  New  York,  had 
brought  with  it  the  ofiicers'  stores  of  wine;  for  the 
officers  of  that  regiment  had  formed  what  they  called  a 
bank,  and  the  stock  consisted  of  light  German  wines, 
from  which  from  time  to  time  the  stockholders  or  de- 
positors would  check  out  such  quantities  as  their  neces- 
sities required.  General  Stevens  ordered  his  provost- 
marshal  to  seize  the  whole  stock,  and  pile  up  the  cases 
and  put  a  guard  over  it,  with  orders  not  to  permit  a 
single  case  of  it  to  be  taken  away.  A  detail  from  the 
Seventy-ninth  New  York  was  made  to  guard  it  over- 
night, and  the  next  morning  the  cases  were  all  there, 
and  so  were  the  bottles,  but  the  wine  was  gone.  There 
was  no  time  to  inquire  into  the  matter,  but  long  after- 
wards the  guards  explained  that  their  orders  were  to 
permit  no  one  to  move  a  single  case  to  be  carried  away, 
but  did  not  forbid  the  use  of  the  wine  for  domestic  or 
medicinal  purposes. 

We  encamped  at  Fredericksburg,  on  the  very  spot 
where  afterwards  the  great  battle  was  fought,  and  on  the 
evening  of  the  12th  of  August  we  broke  camp,  and, 
passing  up  the  west  side  of  the  Rappahannock,  we 
struck  and  crossed  the  Rapidan  at  Germania  Ford,  and, 
passing  up  the  east  side  of  the  river,  took  post  at  Rac- 
coon Ford  on  the  east  bank.     We  lay  three  days  at 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  LEASURE.       143 

Raccoon  Ford,  and  during  that  time  made  a  reconnois- 
sance  in  force  across  to  the  west  side  and  encountered 
J.  E.  B.  Stuart's  cavalry,  and  its  renowned  and  gallant 
leader  only  escaped  capture  by  leaping  out  of  the  back 
window  of  a  farm-house,  where  he  and  his  adjutant- 
general  were  unsuspiciously  waiting  for  a  hot  lunch. 
The  adjutant-general  was  captured,  and  a  portion  of  the 
general's  appertainings,  including  his  spurs.  The  recon- 
noissance  proved  the  enemy  present  in  force  and  moving 
up  the  river,  apparently  to  find  a  crossing  less  strongly 
guarded. 

While  lying  at  Raccoon  Ford  on  Sunday,  I  rode  out 
to  make  observations  on  the  topography  of  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  on  arriving  at  an  old  farm-house  at  the 
ford  I  found  it  was  the  homestead  of  the  Stringfellow 
family,  and  the  redoubtable  Dr.  Stringfellow,  of  Kansas 
notoriety,  was  there  enjoying  an  ignoble  absence  from 
the  dangers  of  the  war  he  had  been  so  very  ofl&cious  in 
bringing  on.  I  understood  that  he  had  scorned  to  accept 
any  office  in  the  rebel  army  under  a  brigadier,  and,  as 
the  rebel  authorities  at  their  War  Department  did  not 
place  a  very  great  value  upon  untrained  and  inexperi- 
enced officers  in  high  command,  he  was  overslaughed, 
and  remained  sulkins;  in  the  homestead.  His  brother 
Lawrence,  whose  home  was  near  at  hand,  was  with  the 
rebel  army.  The  doctor  seemed  inclined  to  be  hospita- 
ble, and  invited  me  and  staff  to  come  in  and  have  some 
refreshment,  but  I  respectfully  declined,  with  thanks, 
but  accepted  in  lieu  a  crockful  of  nice  cool  buttermilk, 
which  an  ancient  auntie  toted  out  of  the  spring-house 
for  our  delectation.  While  drinking  the  buttermilk  we 
observed  certain  men  in  blue  skirmishing  across  a  field 


144         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

towards  a  flock  of  remarkably  long-legged  sheep,  which 
they  corralled,  and  white  and  blue  coats  mixed  up  in 
pairs  of  blue  and  white  disappeared  over  the  fence  into 
the  woods.  One  of  my  staff  remarked  that  the  men  in 
blue  were  members  of  the  Forty-sixth  New  York  Regi- 
ment, and  part  of  my  command,  and  Dr.  Stringfellow 
asked  me  if  I  permitted  that  kind  of  work,  and  in 
answer  I  could  only  say  that  something  of  that  kind 
was  involved  in  the  vote  of  Virginia  in  favor  of  seces- 
sion, and  I  was  not  disposed  to  interfere  with  the  nat- 
ural course  of  events.  It  was  a  melancholy  sight  to  me, 
who,  but  a  short  two  years  before,  had  seen  this  same 
man  stalking  through  the  corridors  of  Willard's,  in  the 
nation's  capital,  swinging  a  huge  cane,  and  swelling 
with  a  marked  self-consciousness  of  his  personal  impor- 
tance, and  now  he  was  obliged  to  stand  tamely  by  while 
his  flocks  were  appropriated  by  a  lot  of  "  Yankee  Dutch- 
men."    Well  might  he  exclaim  temipora  mutantur. 

At  midnight  of  the  19th  we  broke  camp  and  silently 
stole  away,  leaving  the  ford  strongly  picketed,  and  pass- 
ing up  the  river  to  Barnet's  Ford,  we  were  suddenly  or- 
dered to  retrace  our  march  and  retire  beyond  the  Rap- 
pahannock. This  we  did  by  forced  marches,  lasting  far 
into  the  night,  and  often  obliged  to  halt  until  the  videttes 
would  feel  the  way  and  return  to  guide  us  on  our  march. 
Marching  thus,  during  those  hours  of  darkness  no  word 
was  spoken,  and  when  the  head  of  the  column  halted 
the  whole  column  would  sink  as  it  were  into  the  earth, 
and  in  a  moment  the  officers  and  men  of  the  line  would 
be  in  a  sound  sleep ;  and  when  the  head  of  the  column 
moved,  it  seemed  as  though,  without  a  word  of  command, 
the  whole  line  rose  and  silently  moved  on. 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  LEASURE.       145 

On  the  night  we  reached  Kelly's  Ford,  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Rappahannock,  it  was  a  question  whether 
the  enemy  had  crossed  or  whether  we  had  anticipated 
him ;  and  finding  that  we  had  arrived  in  time  to  stop 
his  crossing,  we  bivouacked  partly  in  a  cornfield  and 
partly  in  an  old  orchard.  We  had  not  had  anything  to 
eat  during  the  day,  exce|)t  what  we  could  gnaw  as  we 
marched,  and  having  leave  to  make  fires,  the  fences 
formed  themselves  into  piles  among  the  corn,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  huge  fires  answered  the  double  purpose  of 
affording  facilities  for  making  coffee,  cooking  roasting- 
ears,  and  informing  our  anxious  fellow-travellers  on  the 
other  bank  of  the  river  that  they  were  too  late  for  sup- 
per, and  would  have  to  wait  for  the  second  table.  Before 
daylight  the  troops  were  in  position  and  the  batteries  in 
place  commanding  the  ford  and  its  approaches  on  the 
other  side,  and  we  maintained  that  formidable  front  till 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  orders  came  for  us  to 
move  from  our  position  as  rapidly  as  possible  and  move 
up  the  river  towards  Kajipahannock  Station,  on  the 
Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad.  While  marching, 
countermarching,  and  manoeuvring  to  cover  the  fords, 
we  halted  on  some  high  ground  in  an  open  field  at  noon 
one  day  (I  think  it  was  Sunday,  the  24th),  and  the  chap- 
lain of  the  One  Hundredth  took  the  opportunity  to  have 
some  religious  exercises  with  his  regiment  while  resting 
in  place  in  column,  and  had  commenced  a  sermon  and 
was  getting  along  very  satisfactorily,  when  General 
Stevens  sent  me  word  that  a  masked  battery  on  the 
heights  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  was  about  to 
open  fire  on  us,  and  through  my  glass  I  saw  some  small 
bushy  trees  being  cut  down  to  unmask  it.     Quick  as 

10 


146         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

thouglit  the  order  rang  out,  "  Attention,  battalions ! 
Right  face,  forward,  double-quick  march  by  file  right, 
march  !"  and  in  a  few  moments  the  column  was  over  the 
heights  and  came  "on  right  by  file  into  line,"  leaving  the 
chaplain  standing  in  "  j)<^sis^^/'  ^^^  congregation  having 
suddenly  vanished;  but  before  he  had  time  to  realize  the 
situation  half  a  dozen  shells  came  sputtering  along  sing- 
ing till  they  "  bust,"  and  then  he  recognized  one  of  the 
exigencies  of  the  service,  and  slowly  and  deliberately 
retired  also,  and  joined  us  under  the  shelter  of  the  hill. 
Long  afterwards,  in  a  distant  field,  when  one-half  of  his 
audience  on  that  day  slept  the  eternal  sleep,  he  took  up 
the  thread  of  that  unfinished  sermon  and  brought  it  to 
a  most  eloquent  and  fitting  conclusion.  He  was  as  brave 
and  cool  a  man  as  I  ever  saw,  and  was  always  well  up 
in  the  front  when  his  regiment  was  under  fire,  and  was 
the  last  man  to  leave  the  ground  if  the  command  was 
obliged  to  retire  and  leave  its  dead  and  wounded ;  and  I 
may  anticipate  a  little  here  to  say  that  he  remained  on 
the  field  with  the  wounded  to  care  for,  and  pray  for, 
and  receive  last  messages  to  distant  friends  from  dying 
sokhers,  after  the  abandonment  of  position  on  the  29th 
of  August,  and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  who, 
respecting  his  person  because  of  his  mission,  permitted 
him  to  administer  his  last  consolations  and  retui-n  to  us 
without  parole. 

Chaplain  Robert  Audley  Browne,  of  the  "  Round- 
heads," was  a  man  of  men  in  a  thousand  in  positions  of 
deadly  peril,  in  the  discharge  of  a  sacred  duty. 

From  the  time  we  left  Kelly's  Ford  we  marched  and 
countermarched,  sometimes  going  back  over  the  line 
of  the  previous  day's  march,  sometimes  to  a  point  men- 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  LEASURE.       I47 

aced  in  one  direction  and  sometimes  in  another,  until  it 
seemed  as  if  we  were  traversing  the  whole  territory 
embraced  between  the  valley  of  tlie  Eappahannock  and 
Centreville,  along  the  line  of  the  Orange  and  Alexan- 
dria Railroad.  Only  twice  did  we  fail  to  march  far  into 
the  night,  and  that  was,  first,  when  at  dusk  an  awful 
thunder-storm  accompanied  by  a  terrible  rain  stopped 
us  at  Bealeton  Station,  and,  second,  when  we  lay  over  at 
sundown  at  Greenwich,  and  nearly  always  we  moved 
before  daylight  in  the  morning. 

We  often  moved  in  three  columns  by  both  day  and 
night,  the  artillery  and  transportation  following  the 
main  road,  while  a  column  of  infantry  moved  along  on 
each  side.  Of  course  the  troops  were  greatly  exhausted, 
and  many  were  compelled  to  go  to  the  rear,  if  we 
had  a  rear,  and  so  get  to  some  station  on  the  railroad 
for  transportation  to  the  hospitals  at  Alexandria  and 
Georgetown.  The  horses,  too,  often  suffered  for  forage 
and  water,  and  for  days  and  nights  successively  were 
neither  unsaddled  nor  unharnessed.  The  battery  horses 
especially  suffered  greatly,  for  the  weather  was  hot,  and 
the  springs  and  small  streams  were  nearly  dried  up. 
On  the  26th  of  August,  while  we  were  lying  at  rest  for 
a  short  time  at  noon,  I  was  sent  for  by  General  Stevens, 
and  found  him  with  Generals  Pope,  McDowell,  Reno, 
and  Kearney,  holding  counsel  over  what  seemed  to  be 
a  matter  of  much  moment.  I  did  not  know  till  next 
day  that  Stonewall  Jackson  was  passing  our  rear  and 
menacing  our  communications,  and  threatening  the 
capital  itself.  At  this  meeting  of  the  generals  I  was 
struck  with  the  earnestness  with  which  General  Kear- 
ney was  trying  to  impress  upon  General  Pope  the  utter 


148         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

futility  of  hoping  for  any  help  from  the  Fifth  Corps  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  He  was  perfectly  fierce  in 
his  denunciation  of  what  he  called  the  spirit  of  Mc- 
Clellanism  pervading  officers  in  high  command  in  that 
army. 

I  did  not  understand  the  meaning  of  the  word  at  that 
time,  but  later  I  had  sad  reasons  for  understanding  its 
sinister  significance.  General  Kearney  insisted  that  co- 
operation on  the  part  of  the  officer  in  command  of  the 
Fifth  Corps  should  not  be  looked  for  nor  depended  upon, 
which  I  thought  at  the  time  was  something  too  mon- 
strous to  believe,  and  I  could  see  that  the  generals  pres- 
ent were  also  incredulous  as  to  Kearney's  predictions, 
but  the  next  three  days  convinced  all  that  fighting  Phil 
Kearney  was  right. 

We  resumed  our  march,  and  continued  far  into 
the  night,  and  as  we  had  no  rear,  we  could  not  tell 
when  we  might  run  into  the  enemy,  or  he  might  run 
into  us,  so  we  had  to  move  with  much  deliberation. 
We  were  moving  to  intercept  Jackson,  but  Lee  was 
moving  behind  us.  Lee  might  catch  up,  or  Jackson 
might  turn  back,  or  both  these  contingencies  might 
happen,  and  we  would  be  squeezed  between  them.  We 
were  halted  towards  midnight  by  an  aide  from  General 
Pope,  who  informed  us  that  we  were  on  the  wrong  road. 
I  told  him  I  had  been  solely  moving  according  to  the 
instructions  of  the  guide  who  had  been  sent  to  me,  and 
turnhig  to  appeal  to  the  guide  (a  crippled  native),  I 
found  he  had  quietly  slipped  from  his  horse  and  van- 
ished into  th'e  night.  The  aide  ordered  me  to  wait  for 
further  orders,  on  which,  after  sending  out  pickets,  I 
ordered  the  connnand  to  give  over  to  the  left,  so  as  to 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL   DANIEL  LEASURE.       149 

leave  the  road  clear,  and  rest  in  place.  Instantly  the 
line  shifted  and  sunk  down  as  if  into  the  ground,  and 
all  slept  the  sleep  which  only  a  wearied  soldier  knows. 
In  a  few  minutes  we  were  joined  by  General  Stevens, 
who  remained  with  us  till  the  aide  returned,  and  we 
moved  back  left  in  front,  till  we  arrived  at  our  destined 
position,  and  lay  down  literally  in  our  tracks. 

On  the  27tli  we  had  a  fearful  day's  march,  many  men 
falling  out  by  the  way,  and  just  before  sundown  reached 
Greenwich,  where,  alongside  of  Kearney's  division,  we 
went  into  bivouac  in  a  clover-field.  The  troops  got 
their  cofiPee  and  slept  beside  their  arms.  After  dark  a 
dense  column  of  smoke  and  fire,  that  illuminated  the 
sky  far  and  wide  on  our  right,  informed  us  that  Jack- 
son was  at  Manassas  Junction,  and  burning  our  stores 
and  destroying  the  railroad  rolling-stock. 

The  night  was  moonless,  but  clear  and  starry,  but  we 
were  ordered  to  stay  as  we  were  till  further  orders. 
General  Stevens  came  along  after  a  while,  and,  sitting 
down  beside  me,  remarked  that  the  comet  which  was 
apparently  over  Manassas  Junction  would  by  supersti- 
tious people  be  considered  an  evil  omen.  I  said  I  hoped 
it  was  an  omen  of  trouble  to  Jackson,  as  it  seemed 
to  hover  over  his  nocturnal  operations.  He  laughed  a 
kind  of  a  sad  foreboding  laugh  that  I  afterwards  had 
reason  to  remember,  as  it  was,  with  one  exception,  the 
last  time  I  ever  heard  him  laugh. 

At  daybreak  of  the  28th  we  moved,  and  by  eleven 
o'clock  were  at  the  point  of  Jackson's  depredations  at 
Manassas  Junction,  but  only  found  the  debris  of  his 
thorough  last  night's  work,  and  pushing  on  towards 
Centre ville,  we  took  position  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night 


150         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

on  the  battle-ground  of  the  first  Bull  Run,  and  I  tied 
my  horse  to  what  I  supposed  to  be  a  stake,  but  which, 
in  the  dim  light  of  the  morning  I  found  to  be  a  horse's 
leg  sticking  up  through  the  grass,  a  landmark  of  one  of 
the  positions  of  T.  W.  Sherman's   (afterwards  Hamil- 
ton's) battery  on  the  day  of  the  first  Bull  Run  battle. 
My  brigade  wagon  came  up  in  a  few  minutes,  and  after 
issuing  rations  and  ammunition  and  sending  out  my 
quota  of  pickets,  I  crept  under  the  wagon,  and  slept 
soundly  till  I  was  quietly  roused  up  at  four  o'clock  to 
read  orders  which  told  me  to  let  the  command  breakfast 
and  be  in  line  in  one  hour ;  that  is,  at  five  sharp.     Ac- 
cordingly, at  five  we  were  in  line,  and  I  received  an 
order  to  detail  two  hundred  men  under  proper  officers 
to  report  to  the  division  quartermaster  as  train  guards. 
Six  companies  of  the  Forty-sixth  New  York,  under  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gerhart,  were  thus  detailed, 
leaving  me  only  four  companies  of  that  regiment,  under 
command  of  Colonel  Rosa,  a  brave  and  accomplished 
officer,  trained  to  arms  under  Frederick  William,  King 
of  Prussia.     This  left  me  with  but  four  hundred  and 
fifty  of  the  One  Hundredth,  and  less  than  two  hundred 
of  the  Forty -sixth  New  York,  making  my  effective  force 
not  over  six  hundred  and  fifty  muskets ;  but  they  were 
men  of  iron,  for  the  weaker  men  had  fallen  out  and  gone 
to  hospitals,  or  straggled  in  the  rear.     We  moved  out 
from  our  bivouac  in  the  gray  dusk  of  a  foggy  morning, 
and  striking  into  the  bush,  passed  along  blind  paths, 
and  sometimes  through   the  brush  and  rocks,  till  we 
crossed  Cub  Run,  the  eastern  branch  of  Bull  Run,  and 
debouched  upon  the  Warrenton  Turnpike,  about  half 
a  mile  east  of  the  stone  bridge  over  Bull  Run  proper. 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  LEASURE.       I5I 

The  First  Brigade  of  Stevens's  division,  under  Colonel 
Christ,  of  the  Fiftieth  Pennsylvania,  was  ordered  to  re- 
port to  Kearney,  and  the  Second,  under  Colonel  Farns- 
worth,  of  the  Seventy-ninth  New  York,  to  report  to 
Milroy,  while  my  brigade  was  ordered  to  support  Sigel. 

General  Sigel  was  on  the  left,  and  if  Porter's  corps 
failed  to  make  a  diversion  in  his  favor  according  to  Gen- 
eral Pope's  orders,  and  our  understanding  of  them,  Sigel 
would  be  outflanked  and  hurled  back.  This  was  about 
eight  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

General  Stevens  sent  his  staff  officers  with  the  other 
brigades,  and  came  to  me  accompanied  by  a  single 
mounted  orderly,  remarking  as  he  joined  me  that  mine 
would  be  his  fighting  brigade  that  day  and  he  should 
go  in  with  me.  I  need  hardly  say  that  nothing  in  the 
wide  world  could  have  so  conformed  to  my  most  ardent 
wishes,  and  the  eyes  of  the  men  lighted  up  with  the 
enthusiasm  which  soldiers  feel  in  the  presence  of  a 
tried  leader,  for  they  had  learned  to  love  the  little 
smoky- visaged  general,  because  his  heart  was  with  them, 
and  they  had  witnessed  his  cool  conduct  in  battle  and 
knew  his  unflinching  courage. 

He  told  me  that  if  Kearney's  prediction  came  true, 
and  the  Fifth  Corps  did  not  enter  the  fight,  Sigel  would 
inevitably  fall  back,  and  he  remarked  that  Sigel  was 
most  dangerous  to  the  enemy  under  such  circumstances. 
He  explained  to  me  what  was  our  duty  under  such  a 
state  of  affairs,  so  that  if  anything  happened  to  him  I 
might  not  be  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  do.  In  return 
I  begged  of  him  that  if  anything  happened  to  me,  he 
would  take  my  command  himself  and  bring  it  safely 
and  honorably  out.     Looking  me  in  the  eyes  as  he  rode 


152  GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

on  my  right,  lie  reached  over  his  hand  and  took  mine, 
and  silently  the  compact  was  sealed.  I  thought  he 
foreboded  harm  to  himself,  but  as  events  proved,  he  re- 
deemed his  promise  to  me  before  nightfall.  It  was  to 
me  that  something  happened. 

While  thus  marching  to  take  position  we  met  about 
two  hundred  disarmed  men  in  blue,  who  informed  us 
that  Stonewall  Jackson  had  captured  them  at  Manassas 
Junction,  and  that  his  provost-marshal  had  marched  all 
night  through  trying  to  pass  them  towards  Richmond, 
but  everywhere  they  encountered  Pope's  pickets,  and, 
finally  despairing  of  disposing  of  them  in  any  other 
way,  he  paroled  them  and  sent  them  into  our  lines. 
They  were  certain  that  Jackson's  force  was  completely 
surrounded  and  that  before  evening  we  would  gather 
him  in.  They  told  us  we  would  know  him  by  his 
cream-colored  horse,  and  so  we  did — at  a  dista7ice.  Just 
then  a  corporal  with  four  privates  from  the  Fourth  In- 
diana Cavalry  reported  to  General  Stevens  as  orderlies, 
and  he  turned  them  over  to  me  at  once.  As  we  moved 
along  the  turnpike  following  Sigel,  who  was  pushing 
Jackson's  right  near  the  turnpike  with  his  left  at  or 
near  Sudley  Springs,  almost  at  right  angles  with  the 
pike,  we  could  hear  the  firing  of  the  skirmishers  on 
both  sides,  and  General  Stevens  explained  to  me  that 
King's  division  was  on  the  turnpike  a  little  to  the  left 
of  Sigel  and  w^ell  advanced,  and  that  the  Fifth  Corps 
was  at  Bristoe  Station,  on  the  Orange  and  Alexandria 
Kailroad,  a  little  over  a  mile  from  King's  left,  a  little  to 
his  rear,  and  that  if  Porter,  having  a  division  of  regu- 
lars under  Sykes,  would  hold  Longstreet  for  a  few 
hours  we  would  have  Jackson  sure  enough. 


ADDEESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  LEASURE.       153 

Ah,  how  much  depended  on  that  if ! 

It  was  a  cousoUition  to  know  that  Kearney  was  next 
on  our  right,  so  we  had  no  fears  in  that  direction. 

Moving  along  the  pike  at  a  brisk  route  step,  we  passed 
the  stone  house  in  the  Bull  Run  Valley  and  ascended 
tlie  slope  of  the  hill  towards  the  heights  east  of 
Groveton. 

At  about  ten  o'clock,  as  we  were  passing  the  first 
height,  and  about  one-half  my  command  had  passed 
over  the  top  and  were  descending  into  the  valley  that 
intervened  between  the  first  and  second,  or  Groveton 
Heights,  we  suddenly  encountered  the  fire  of  the  en- 
emy's skirmishers,  occupying  the  Groveton  Heights  in 
our  front,  and  we  immediately  turned  and  marched  by 
our  left  flank  till  we  had  regained  the  crest  of  the  hill 
we  were  passing  over,  where  General  Stevens  instructed 
me  to  take  position  to  the  left  of  the  pike,  my  right 
resting  on  that  road,  and  as  Dilger's  battery  of  Sigel's 
corps  had  a  few  minutes  before  retired  from  that  posi- 
tion, his  ammunition  being  exhausted,  General  Stevens 
replaced  it  by  Benjamin's  battery,  consisting  of  four 
20-pound  Parrots. 

Benjauiin  had  been  on  our  front,  a  little  to  our  left,  and 
was  moving  obliquely  to  the  left  across  an  open  field, 
when  he  encountered  the  fire  of  the  enemy's  skirmish- 
ers, and  as  a  battery  opened  on  the  Groveton  Heights 
at  the  same  moment,  he  wheeled  his  battery,  gaining  the 
pike,  and  passing  to  the  right,  took  his  position,  and 
unlimbered  on  the  crest  in  front  of  my  position  ;  but  in 
wheeling  in  the  open  space  on  the  hill-side  between  us 
and  the  enemy  he  overturned  one  of  his  caissons  full 
of  ammunition,  and  was  obliged  to  abandon  it  for  the 


154         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

present,  in  order  to  get  into  position.  Tlie  horses  were 
detached  and  retired  safely  to  our  rear.  By  order 
of  General  Stevens  I  sent  Companies  A,  Captain  Teni- 
pleton  ;  F,  Lieutenant  Patton  ;  D,  Lieutenant  Calhoun  ; 
I,  Captain  Squires ;  and  M,  Captain  Campbell,  of  the 
One  Hundredth  Kegiment,  forward  as  skirmishers, 
under  charge  of  Caj^tain  Templeton.  They  threw  off 
their  knapsacks,  blankets,  and  shelter-tents,  and  double- 
quicked  into  the  valley  in  front  of  us  and  well  forward 
towards  the  position  of  the  enemy  on  the  heights  oppo- 
site to  us,  and  deploying  as  they  ran,  entered  a  large 
field  of  standing  corn,  and  passing  carefully  through  it, 
got  jjosition  at  its  farther  boundary,  where  they  took 
the  fence  for  their  alignment  and  partial  j^rotection,  and 
opened  a  withering  fire  upon  the  enemy.  I  had  care- 
fully trained  my  own  regiment  in  marksmanship,  and 
as  many  of  them  had  been  accustomed  to  the  use  of 
the  squirrel-rifle  before  entering  the  service,  they  were 
easily  converted  into  very  effective  sharp-shooters. 

I  had  also  given  them  line  upon  line,  and  precept  upon 
precept,  on  the  subject  of  firing  aimlessly,  and  so  wast- 
ing ammunition  uselessly,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  to 
carefully  see  something  to  fire  at  before  pulling  a  trig- 
ger, and  now  these  men  showed  their  mettle.  They 
were  sheltered  from  the  enemy's  batteries,  because  he 
could  not  depress  his  guns  to  rake  them  nor  shell  them, 
and  though  after  a  while  they  seemed  very  quiet,  they 
were  watching.  General  Stevens  grew  impatient,  and 
asked  why  they  were  not  firing  rapidly.  I  explained 
my  instructions,  and  told  him  he  would  soon  see  what 
they  were  about.  Almost  instantly  a  column  of  in- 
fantry came  into  sight,  and  attempted  to  deploy  into 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  LEASURE.       155 

line  to  move  on  our  position.  Tlien  the  j^uffs  of  smoke 
and  the  sharp  crack  of  the  Springfiehls  showed  that 
the  "Roundheads"  had  their  eyes  open,  and  the  enemy's 
column  recoiled  in  confusion,  to  try  it  again  with  the 
same  result ;  then  four  additional  batteries  came  up  and 
incautiously  took  quite  an  advanced  position,  but  before 
they  could  fire  a  second  round  their  gunners  were 
dropping  to  the  fire  of  the  skirmishers,  and  they  retired 
till  only  the  tops  of  their  gun-carriages  were  visible  to 
us  above  the  level  of  their  pieces.  "Bravo!"  cried  Ben- 
jamin ;  "  with  those  men  in  the  cornfield  this  is  a  good 
place  to  stay."  Meanwhile,  Benjamin  was  plying  his 
20-pounders  as  coolly  as  if  he  were  practising  for 
fun,  though  the  concentrated  fire  of  five  batteries,  at 
fifteen  hundred  yards,  was  telling  upon  his  men  and 
horses,  as  well  as  upon  the  men  of  my  command  in 
support.  We  did  not  fire  a  gun  from  our  position  in 
support,  but  the  men  lay  down,  and  only  bursting  shells 
or  dropping  shots  could  reach  them.  The  air  seemed 
hurtling  with  the  missiles  from  the  enemy's  batteries, 
and  only  General  Stevens  and  myself,  with  my  staff 
and  the  orderlies,  were  visible  to  the  enemy,  besides 
the  men  managing  Benjamin's  guns.  Benjamin  him- 
self rode  slowly  about  among  his  guns,  and  sometimes 
dismounted  to  point  a  piece.  He  used  a  crutch, 
owing  to  a  wound  received  in  a  previous  battle,  and 
his  lieutenants  ably  seconded  him.  Observing  through 
my  field-glass  which  one  of  the  enemy's  batteries  had 
got  our  range  so  perfectly,  I  handed  the  glass  to  Ben- 
jamin, who  carefully  scanned  its  position,  and  dis- 
mounting, still  keeping  the  glass  in  his  hand,  and  oc- 
casionally looking  through  it  while  he  pointed  one  of 


l^Q         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

his  pieces,  and  ste23ping  back,  handed  me  my  glass,  and 
turned  to  his  man  at  the  gun  he  had  just  pointed,  and 
quietly  said,  "  Sergeant,  you  may  fire."  We  watched 
for  the  effect  of  the  shot,  and  saw  one  gun  disabled;  and 
so  on,  Benjamin  aimed  at  one  of  the  guns  of  that  battery 
after  another  until  every  gun  was  silenced  or  withdrawn. 
But  this  was  not  done  without  loss  on  our  side.  One 
shell  exploded  among  the  men  serving  one  piece,  and 
killed  two  outright  and  wounded  five.  It  created  no 
ripple  of  excitement ;  the  dead  and  wounded  were  car- 
ried to  the  rear  and  buried  or  cared  for.  The  fire  of 
the  remaining  four  batteries  was  now  redoubled,  and 
General  Stevens  said  they  were  going  to  charge  again, 
and  in  a  minute  a  column  dei^loyed,  to  be  hurled  back 
in  confusion  by  the  men  in  the  cornfield,  who  had 
been  quite  quiet,  but  watching  for  something  to  turn 
up.  I  presume  the  enemy  must  have  thought  that  they 
had  retired,  but  they  were  not  that  kind.  Seeing  the 
effect  of  the  fire  of  the  skirmishers,  Benjamin  called 
for  three  cheers,  and  his  men  gave  it  with  a  will,  and 
the  artillery  duel  over  the  heads  of  the  men  in  the  corn 
was  resumed  with  fearful  effect.  All  at  once  about  two 
feet  of  the  muzzle  of  one  of  Benjamin's  guns  flew  all 
to  pieces  just  as  it  was  discharged.  Benjamin  said  the 
shell  must  have  exploded  before  leaving  the  gun,  but  a 
grim  old  sergeant  remarked  that  it  was  a  percussion- 
shell,  and  must  have  struck  its  nose  against  something 
to  make  it  explode,  and  suggested  that  a  solid  shot  of 
less  calibre,  from  one  of  the  enemy's  guns,  had  entered 
the  muzzle  just  as  the  shell  was  passing  out,  and  so 
burst  the  percussion  and  caused  the  explosion  within 
the  gun.     We  all  thought  this  too  improbable  for  any- 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  LEASURE.        I57 

thing ;  but  while  we  were  talking  another  of  the  guns 
suddenly  leaped  up  a  foot  or  more,  and  wheeled  half 
round,  and  on  looking,  we  found  that  a  solid  shot  had 
struck  it  fairly  in  the  face,  and  indented  it  so  that 
the  inner  lip  of  the  indentation  encroached  upon  the 
calibre  nearly  half  an  inch,  and  so  ruled  that  gun  out 
too.  Then  we  were  not  so  incredulous  regarding  the 
theory  of  the  old  sergeant  as  to  the  fate  of  the  former 
disabled  gun.  Here  were  now  two  guns  hors  du  combat, 
leaving  only  two  to  carry  on  the  fight. 

All  the  same,  it  went  on  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 
The  gun  that  had  had  its  muzzle  blown  off  still  stood 
grinning  with  its  ragged  jaws  towards  the  enemy,  and 
the  gunners  withdrew  it  a  few  rods  and  buried  it,  placing 
a  head-  and  foot-stone  to  it,  as  if  it  were  the  grave  of  a 
soldier  left  alone  in  his  quiet  rest.  At  last  Benjamin 
turned  to  us  and  told  us  his  guns  were  ours,  for  he  had 
no  more  ammunition,  except  what  was  in  the  full  caisson 
overturned  half-way  down  the  hill  in  our  front.  Gen- 
eral Stevens  gave  nie  one  look, — it  needed  but  one, — and 
passing  over  to  the  right  of  my  own  regiment,  I  ordered 
Captain  Simeon  H.  Brown,  of  Company  G,  to  stack 
arms  and  strip  his  men  of  all  encumbrances,  and  take 
them  down  and  set  that  caisson  on  its  feet  and  bring  it 
in.  Galled  by  long  inaction  under  a  withering  artillery 
fire,  the  men  sprung  to  it  like  wild-cats,  and  before  the 
enemy,  or  even  we,  could  realize  it  the  caisson  was  in  its 
place  without  the  loss,  or  even  the  wounding,  of  a  man. 
General  Stevens  ran  up  and  caught  Captain  Brown  in 
his  arms,  crying,  "  God  bless  you  and  your  men !"  Poor 
Simeon  Brown !  he  performed  one  more  gallant  deed 
later  that  day,  but  died  in  the  performance.     While 


X58         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

Benjamin's  new  lot  of  ammunition  lasted  he  held  his 
position,  and  had  silenced  fully  half  of  the  enemy's  guns, 
for  those  20-pounders  were  very  devils  in  such  a  duel. 
Sometimes  the  fire  on  both  sides  would  slacken  to  let  the 
guns  cool,  and  at  such  quiet  moments  we  listened  to  hear 
the  guns  of  the  Fifth  Corps  off  to  our  left  and  front,  but 
we  did  not  hear  them. 

Along  about  four  o'clock  we  saw  off  to  our  right  and 
front  what  seemed  to  be  fresh  troops  coming  on  the  field 
on  the  other  side,  and  deploying,  formed  into  three  lines 
of  battle,  about  fifty  paces  apart  in  the  rear  of  each  other, 
and  then  they  moved  down  on  Milroy,  who  held  a  posi- 
tion a  quarter  of  a  mile  or  more  to  our  right  and  a 
little  to  our  front,  in  the  hollow  or  depression  that  inter- 
vened between  the  heights  we  were  on  and  the  Grove- 
ton  Heights.  We  plainly  saw  Milroy  driven  back,  and 
about  forty  men  in  blue  were  seen  sent  to  the  rear  of  the 
enemy,  prisoners  of  war.  These  troops  of  the  enemy 
held  the  position,  and  our  lines  on  that  side  were  pushed 
back  a  short  distance,  but  still  kept  up  a  bold  front. 

It  was  now  five  o'clock  and  Sigel  was  falling  back,  and 
the  enemy  was  again  increasing  his  fire  on  our  position, 
and  I  asked  General  Stevens  what  we  should  do.  "Stay 
where  we  are,"  he  replied,  "till  ordered  away."  Just 
then  General  Blenker,  of  Sigel's  corps,  arrived  on  our 
left,  with  his  division  slowly  falling  back  in  solid  column 
doubled  on  its  centre.  He  advised  Stevens  to  fall  back; 
but  he  refused  unless  ordered,  and  Blenker  gave  the 
order.  I  was  then  requested  to  call  in  my  five  compa- 
nies of  skirmishers.  It  was  a  fearful  task  in  the  face 
of  the  terrible  fire  now  filling  up  the  whole  field  on 
our  front,  but  it  was  magnificently  done  by  Lieutenant 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  LEASURE.       159 

Joseph  H.  Gilliland,  of  Company  K,  of  the  "Koimd- 
heads,"  serving  as  aide  on  my  staff.    As  soon  as  the  skir- 
mishers were  in,  I  summoned  the  mounted  corporal  sent 
to  me  in  the  morning,  for,  of  all  the  orderlies,  he  alone 
was  left.     One  was  killed,  two  were  wounded,  and  one 
had  his  horse  cut  nearly  in  two  by  a  solid  shot.     The 
corporal  was  on  his  horse  at  my  side  with  his  right  hand 
on  the  neck  of  my  horse,  while  I  was  giving  him  an 
order  to  deliver  to  Colonel  Rosa,  of  the  Forty-sixth 
New  York,  when  all   at  once  he  leaped  to  the  ground 
and  seized  one  of  his  feet  in  his  hands.     It  was  torn  up 
by  a  piece  of  shell.     How  it  could  have  happened  was 
one  of  the  mysteries  of  battle,  for  it  was  the  foot  next 
to  me,  on  the  inside  between  our  horses.     However,  Gen- 
eral Stevens  kindly  conveyed  my  order  himself,  and  just 
as  we  were  starting  to  follow  Blenker's  command,  Eoe- 
mer's  New  York  Battery  thundered  into  position   and 
unlimbered  on  the  right  of  our  late  position,  and  on  the 
right  of  the  turnpike.     We  supported  it  for  a  few  mhi- 
utes,  when  an  aide  came  from  General  Reno  to  General 
Stevens  ordering  him  to  double-quick  off  to  the  right, 
to  the  support  of  Kearney,  and  off  we  went.     On  ar- 
riving at  the  desired  place,  just  a  little  to  the  right  of 
Milroy's  late  position,  we  were  met  by  Kearney,  who 
excitedly  asked  General  Stevens  where  his  troops  were, 
adding  that  that  damned  traitor  had  let  Longstreet  loose, 
and  he  was  in  our  front.     General  Stevens  pointed  to 
my  command,  then  numbering  just  five  hundred  and 
seventy-seven  muskets,  as  counted  on  the  double-quick 
march  by  my  son.  Adjutant  S.  George  Leasure,  acting 
assistant  adjutant-general  on  my  staff. 

"Will   these   men  fight?"  said   Kearney.     Stevens 


X(30         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

fairly  yelled,  with  his  eyes  flashing,  "  By  God,  Greneral 
Kearney,  these  are  my  Roundheads !"  "  Who  com- 
mands them  ?"  said  Kearney.  Stevens  pointed  to  me, 
and  Kearney  at  once  rode  to  my  side,  describing  the 
position  of  his  own  troops  and  also  that  of  the  enemy, 
and,  dropping  his  rein,  made  a  gesture  with  his  only  arm 
in  the  direction  of  the  enemy's  position,  and  exclaimed, 
"  That  is  your  line  of  advance,  and  sweep  everything 
before  you.  Look  out  for  your  left ;  I'll  take  care  of 
your  right."  Company  A,  of  the  One  Hundredth,  Cap- 
tain Templeton,  was  ordered  to  strip  for  fight  on  the  skir- 
mish line,  and  I  was  about  to  send  an  order  to  Colonel 
Eosa,  of  the  Forty-sixth  New  York,  to  send  a  company 
from  his  left,  when  General  Stevens  interrupted,  saying, 
"  Send  none  but  Roundheads."  So  I  sent  Company  B, 
Captain  Oliver,  and  those  two  companies  came  rapidly 
to  the  front  and  centre.  I  instructed  them  to  move 
very  cautiously  about  fifty  paces  in  front  of  my  line  of 
battle,  not  firing  as  they  went,  but  keeping  a  sharp  look- 
out till  they  unmasked  the  enemy,  and  then  deliver 
fire  by  volley,  and  fall  back  to  their  j)laces  in  line  to 
assist  in  the  charge.  I  did  it  so  as  not  to  warn  the 
enemy  of  my  approach  till  I  was  within  striking  dis- 
tance. This  took  place  in  the  presence  of  Kearney  and 
Stevens ;  and  then  General  Kearney  turned  to  me,  say- 
ing, "  Sixty  pieces  of  artillery  are  on  the  heights  behind 
you,  and  as  soon  as  you  start  they  will  open  over  your 
heads  and  play  through  the  trees  upon  the  heights  in 
front  of  you,  so  as  to  prevent  any  reinforcements  being 
sent  against  you  till  you  clear  the  whole  damned  thing 
out."  The  ground  in  front  of  us  had  at  first  a  gradual 
descent  through  an  open  space  hidden  from  the  view  of 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  LEASURE.       IQl 

the  enemy,  but  after  crossing  that  the  ground  ascended 
slightly,  and  then  became  level  in  a  rather  dense  piece 
of  forest,  but  not  encumbered  with  underbrush.  We 
soon  came  under  the  enemy's  fire,  and  then  the  artillery 
in  our  rear  opened  its  thunders,  and  the  shot  and  shell 
shrieked  over  our  heads,  while  the  enemy's  batteries  on 
the  Groveton  Heights  replied,  also  firing  over  our  heads, 
and  the  noise  of  the  hurtling  missiles,  and  the  bursting 
shells  and  the  infantry  fire  in  our  front,  gave  grandeur 
to  a  scene  that  was  as  dangerous  as  it  was  sublime. 
Presently  Captain  Templeton,  of  Company  A,  was  car- 
ried back  mortally  wounded,  and  my  men  were  dropping 
down  or  out  with  fearful  frequency,  when  all  at  once  the 
skirmishers  halted  till  the  line  came  up,  and,  after  re- 
porting the  position  of  the  enemy,  took  their  places  in 
the  line,  and  then,  according  to  my  teaching  for  such 
occasions,  the  front  rank  poured  in  a  volley,  and  in  an 
instant  after  the  rear  rank  fired  by  volley,  and  then  the 
enemy  knew  where  to  find  us  if  they  wanted  us.  The 
fire  now  became  fearful  through  the  whole  extent  of  the 
enemy's  line,  which  far  overlapped  me  on  my  left ;  but, 
finding  that  I  was  advancing  with  my  left  too  fast,  I 
ordered  a  mounted  officer  on  duty  to  swing  my  right 
around  till  it  rested  on  a  large  tree  I  pointed  out.  He 
was  sitting  on  his  horse,  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind,  to  my 
awful  horror.  Instantly  General  Stevens  rode  to  my 
side, saying,  "Ob, my  God,  what  a  pity !  AVhat  do  you 
want  him  to  do?"  I  explained;  and  he  said,  "I  will 
swing  around  your  right  for  you,"  and  rode  off;  and, 
true  gentleman  that  he  was,  he  gave  no  order,  he  simply 
told   the   men   that  Colonel  Leasure  wanted   them   to 

advance  to  the  right  to  that  big  tree,  and  it  was  done. 

11 


IQ2         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

A  few  minutes  later  lie  and  his  orderly  returned  on  foot, 
both  their  horses  having  been  killed  and  his  orderly- 
wounded.  By  this  time  the  fire  in  our  front  slackened 
from  some  cause,  and  a  sergeant,  wearing  the  Kearney 
patch  on  his  cap,  came  running  to  me  and  told  me  the 
enemy  were  in  a  railroad  cut  not  fifty  paces  in  my  front, 
but  hidden  by  the  smoke  and  dust.  At  that  instant  the 
fire  reopened  with  great  effect,  and  I  ordered  an  advance; 
but  so  great  was  the  roar  and  crash  of  arms  that  I  could 
not  be  heard,  till  Captain  James  H.  Vangorder,  of  Com- 
pany K,  of  the  One  Hundredth,  ran  up  to  my  side  and 
asked  what  I  wanted.  I  explained,  and  springing  in 
front  of  his  company,  with  blazing  face  yelled  out, 
"  Company  K,  forward,  double-quick,  charge !"  and 
away  they  went,  and  the  whole  line  moved  forward 
with  them  until  the  cut  was  reached,  and  pouring  in  all 
the  fire  they  had,  the  line  charged  and  the  cut  was  ours. 
In  a  few  minutes  we  could  see  new  troops  forming  on 
the  heights  in  front  of  us,  for  all  was  clear  in  that  direc- 
tion, and  down  they  came,  three  lines  of  battle  deep,  just 
as  we  had  seen  them  move  on  Milroy  a  little  while  before, 
on  nearly  the  same  spot,  and  General  Stevens  told  me 
not  to  hold  on  much  longer,  and  he  would  go  back  and 
be  in  readiness  to  halt  and  re-form  the  line  as  it  came 
back.  We  now  opened  fire  with  all  the  force  we  could, 
and  the  enemy  halted  and  returned  our  fire. 

At  this  time  my  son  was  wounded  and  my  horse  was 
shot,  and  while  he  was  plunging  in  pain  I  received  a 
shot  in  the  leg,  but  finding  my  leg  was  not  broken,  I 
dismounted,  and  ordered  my  son  to  take  my  horse  to 
the  rear,  and  save  the  papers  in  my  saddle-bags,  for 
orders,  paroles,  and  countersigns  were  in  them,  and  I 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  LEASURE.       1(53 

did  not  wish  them  to  fall  into  the  enemy's  hands.  But 
now  our  ammunition  was  nearly  expended,  and  I  gave 
the  order  to  fall  back,  but  waited  till  nearly  all  had 
gone,  and  then  through  the  smoke  and  dust  I  saw  the 
enemy  coming  down,  in  the  same  order  of  three  lines  of 
battle,  and  the  front  line  was  not  over  twenty-five  yards 
distant  across  the  cut. 

They  were  marching  as  quietly  as  if  they  were  on 
dress  parade,  with  their  hats  pulled  well  down  over  their 
faces  and  their  eyes  fixed  on  the  ground  ten  paces  in 
front  of  them,  every  officer  in  his  place,  but  only  one 
looking;  ahead,  and  for  an  instant  we  looked  into  each 
other's  eyes,  and  the  next  I  started  to  the  rear  with  what 
few  men  had  lingered  to  expend  their  last  cartridges. 
The  enemy  looked  to  me,  as  I  saw  them  marching  up, 
like  men  who  expected  every  moment  to  meet  their 
death,  who  dreaded  to  go  forward,  and  yet  dreaded 
worse  to  halt,  and  I  could  not  but  admire  their  wonderful 
courage,  enemies  though  they  were. 

As  soon  as  I  started  back  they  reached  the  cut,  no 
doubt  agreeably  surprised  to  find  only  dead  and  wounded 
men  in  it.  A  few  of  them  crossed  over  the  cut,  and 
some  ran  forward  to  capture  me,  but  the  few  of  my  own 
men  near  me  now  fixed  bayonets  and  turned  on  them, 
and  just  at  that  moment  Lieutenant  Gilliland,  of  my  staff, 
galloped  in  on  one  of  my  orderly's  horses,  and  helping 
me  to  mount,  got  me  safely  off  the  field.  I  found  Gen- 
erals Stevens,  Kearney,  and  Reno  awaiting  me.  Gen- 
eral Stevens  had  posted  the  standard-bearer  of  each 
regiment,  and  was  forming  the  men  in  line  of  battle; 
and,  on  counting  the  survivors,  we  found  that  out  of 
four  hundred  and  fifty  men  of  the  "  E-oundheads"  that 


164         GLIMPSES   OF  TEE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

went  into  battle  two  hundred  and  fifty-two  officers  and 
men  were  killed,  wounded,  or  missing,  leaving  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-eight  officers  and  men  not  stricken  or 
lost.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  officers  and 
men  of  the  Forty-sixth  New  York,  forty-nine  officers 
and  men  were  killed,  wounded,  or  missing,  leaving  one 
hundred  and  eighteen  officers  and  men  unstruck  or 
present,  making  a  loss  of  two  hundred  and  fifty-six 
officers  and  men  in  that  small  brigade  to  rej^ort  for 
duty.  I  was  severely  wounded,  so  was  my  son,  adjutant 
of  his  regiment  and  acting  assistant  adjutant-general  on 
my  brigade  staff.  Of  the  "  Roundheads,"  Major  Dawson 
was  wounded,  and  Captain  Templeton,  who  so  splen- 
didly commanded  the  two  hundred  skirmishers  in  our 
first  and  second  fights.  Captain  Simeon  H.  Brown,  who 
with  his  company  so  brilliantly  brought  in  the  over- 
turned caisson,  and  Captain  James  H.  Vangorder,  who 
led  the  last  charge,  were  killed.  Captain  Oliver,  of 
Company  B,  was  desperately  wounded,  Lieutenant 
Spence,  of  Company  K,  was  killed,  and  Lieutenant 
John  P.  Blair,  of  Company  I,  and  Lieutenants  Philo  P. 
Rayen,  of  Company  G,  and  Thomas  H.  Curt,  of  the 
same  com^Dany,  were  desperately  wounded.  This  left 
Company  G  without  a  single  commissioned  officer,  Cap- 
tain Brown  being  killed  and  Lieutenant  Kayen  and 
Curt  both  wounded. 

Colonel  Bosa,  of  the  Forty-sixth  New  York,  was 
desperately  wounded,  and  disabled  for  service  forever, 
two  of  his  captains  were  killed  and  three  lieutenants 
wounded,  and  that  was  the  day  on  which  some  say  there 
was  no  fighting. 

As  soon  as  my  line  was  re-formed  by  General  Stevens 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  LEASURE.       \Q^ 

his  other  brigades  came  up  in  support.  We  waited  an 
attack,  but  the  enemy  did  not  advance,  because,  while 
we  were  attracting  the  attention  of  Longstreet,  Kearney, 
now  free  on  his  left  flank,  doubled  up  Jackson's  left  till 
it  was  bent  back  upon  itself,  and  then  Reno's  command 
hussed  closely  Jackson's  front,  while  Kearney  hugged 
his  doubled-up  left  flank,  and  night  commg  on,  the 
troops  of  both  sides  rested  on  their  arms,  and  some  time 
during  the  night  Jackson  fell  back  to  rectify  his  lines. 
Just  after  these  dispositions  had  been  made  by  Kearney 
and  Reno,  and  when  it  had  grown  quite  dark,  we  could 
see  from  our  position  away  off  on  our  left,  just  where  we^ 
had  held  position  all  day,  two  lines  of  flashing  infantry 
fires  approaching  each  other  where  King's  division  was 
attacked  by  Longstreet's  right,  and  it  was  a  strange  and 
beautiful  sight. 

We  could  see  Longstreet's  fire  increasing  from  the 
arrival  of  reinforcements,  and  King's  fire  receding  and 
growing  weaker,  until  finally  he  withdrew  and  the  enemy 
held  the  position  we  had  occupied  during  the  day,  and 
now  I  was  ruled  out  of  the  fight ;  but  my  adventures  for 
the  day  were  not  quite  over,  for  as  I  rode  on  my  orderly's 
horse  in  the  direction  of  the  field  hospital,  as  I  supposed, 
I  found  myself  all  at  once  in  close  proximity,  on  the 
wrong  side,  too,  of  an  officer  putting  out  pickets,  whose 
dialect  at  once  betrayed  the  land  of  his  birth, — "  away 
down  South  in  Dixie."  Here  was  a  fix.  After  a  single 
moment's  thought  of  a  rebel  prison,  I  drew  my  revolver 
out  of  my  boot-leg,  put  it  on  the  cock,  and  rode  right  up 
to  the  party,  and  in  a  suppressed  voice  asked,  "What 
are  you'ns  doin'  here?"  "A-putting  out  pickets,"  said 
the  officer  in  charge.     "  Well,"  I  replied,  "  you'ns  make 


IQQ         GLIMPSES   OF  TEE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

a  hell  of  a  noise  about  it,  and  the  first  thing  we  know 
you'ns  '11  track  the  'tension  of  the  Yanks.  Wait  here 
half  a  niinit  till  I  see  where  to  put  you'ns,"  and  I  rode 
off"  into  the  darkness,  and  if  they  waited  till  I  came  back 
they  are  there  yet.  Finally  I  reached  the  hospital,  and 
as  there  were  too  many  men  worse  hurt  than  I  was,  I 
waived  my  turn  on  the  dressing-table,  and  that  being 
Friday  night,  my  turn  never  came,  owing  to  the  next 
day's  battle  changing  our  hospital  position,  and,  after 
several  very  disagreeable  adventures  and  much  suffer- 
ing, my  wound  was  first  dressed  in  Philadelphia  by  the 
late  Dr.  Samuel  D.  Gross  on  the  following  Tuesday 
evening,  and  for  many  days  I  knew  little  about  armies, 
marching,  or  battles. 

And  now  I  may  say  without  presumption,  that, 
having  participated  in  some  of  the  hardest-fought  fields 
of  the  war,  I  never  saw  more  earnest,  thorough  fighting 
than  I  saw  in  Pope's  Army  of  Virginia,  and  it  deserved 
a  better  fate  than  to  be  made  a  sacrifice  to  the  envy  or 
jealousy  of  a  disobedient  and  insubordinate  officer  in 
place  of  trust. 


THE  BLESSINGS  OF  WAR. 

BY  CAPTAIN  EUGENE  M.   WILSON, 

FIRST   MINNESOTA   MOUNTED   RANGERS,    U.  S.    VOLUNTEERS. 


This  may  appear  an  incongruous  subject.  It  may 
seem  strangely  out  of  place  to  look  for  blessings  amid 
disasters.  It  is  customary  to  picture  the  white- winged 
angel  of  peace  as  the  great  monopolist  of  all  that  is 
good  or  pleasant  on  earth :  to  portray  the  horrors  of 
war  as  surpassing  all  other  imaginable  calamities.  But 
the  millennium  has  not  yet  arrived,  and  until  it  does,  we 
must  look  with  practical  eyes  upon  many  unpleasant 
necessities  resulting  from  the  disordered  condition  of 
mind  and  matter.  The  history  of  the  world,  in  its 
religious,  political,  and  physical  characteristics,  shows 
that  from  when  the  sons  of  God  sang  together  in  the 
morning  of  time  to  our  own  age  of  boasted  civilization, 
strange  modes  have  been  essential  to  accomplish  great 
and  beneficial  results.  The  destructive  forces  have 
been  incomprehensibly  allied  to  the  continued  and 
effective  operation  of  the  productive  powers.  The  tor- 
nado sweeps  over  the  land,  carrying  ruin  to  the  few, 
but  staying  the  pestilence  that  would  bring  death  to 
the  many.  The  fire-fiend  rages  with  irresistible  terror 
through  a  city,  and  the  desolation  of  its  track  seems  to 
present  naught  but  hopeless  despair.     Yet  a  few  years 


167 


168         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

show  new  streets,  splendidly  and  comfortably  built,  in 
place  of  the  miserable  rows  of  unsightly  and  unhealthy 
houses  destroyed.  Except  for  the  calamity  of  fire,  a 
century  would  not  have  produced  the  improvement. 
And,  as  in  medicine,  diseases  and  injuries  require  pain- 
ful treatment  and  severe  surgery,  so  there  occur  at 
intervals  certain  conditions  of  national  life,  certain 
political  diseases,  that  can  only  be  cured  by  the  rem- 
edy of  war.  Why  it  should  be  so  ordered  is  indeed 
strange,  but  not  more  so  than  many  other  incontestable 
facts;  not  more  so  than  that  the  world  cannot  grow 
without  decay,  and  that  the  whole  state  of  nature  is  but 
feeding  the  process  of  life  by  the  process  of  death. 

I,  of  course,  do  not  contend  that  war,  in  general  or 
in  the  aggregate,  is  beneficial,  but  only  claim  it  is  not 
an  unmixed  evil;  that,  as  in  the  language  of  Tupper, 
"  There  is  nothing  so  false  that  a  sparkle  of  truth  is 
not  in  it,"  so  many  wars  are  a  blessed  necessity,  and 
productive  of  results  cheap  at  all  their  cost. 

By  war  have  religions  been  proj)agated  more  than 
by  any  other  agent.  The  victories  of  Constantine  did 
more  for  the  firm  foundation  of  Christianity  than  the 
preaching  of  the  apostles.  Mohammedanism  spread 
Unitarianism  over  Asia  and  Africa  by  the  sword  and 
the  spear,  and  for  the  time  was  practically  better  than 
the  religions  it  supplanted.  The  extension  of  Christi- 
anity of  to-day  must  look  for  success  more  to  the  arms 
than  the  missionaries  of  the  nations  professing  its  tenets. 

By  war  has  the  spirit  of  liberty  been  kept  alive.  We 
never  value  that  which  costs  us  nothing.  Intrinsic 
value  has  less  to  do  with  an  estimate  than  the  labor  and 
trial  of  achievement.     National  independence  obtained 


ADDRESS  BY  CAPTAIN  EUGENE  M.   WILSON.      109 

through  revolutiou  is   generally  more  enduring    tlian 
when  it  is  the  mere  result  of  quiet  consent. 

There  is  no  more  precious  portion  of  a  nation's 
heritage  than  the  remembrance  of  its  warrior  heroes. 
No  people  can  become  or  remain  great  without  the  ani- 
mation of  that  enthusiastic  patriotism  that  admires  and 
emulates  noble  deeds.  The  wealth  and  strength  of  a 
government  is  not  in  its  large  revenues  and  overloaded 
coffers.  It  is  not  in  large  standing  armies  and  powerful 
navies,  eating  up  the  people's  substance  and  menacing 
their  liberties.  It  is  in  the  common  love  of  a  con- 
tented citizenship,  ever  ready  to  devote  person  and 
property  to  its  protection. 

The  human  mind  is  so  constituted  that  the  greatest 
results  cannot  be  achieved  by  the  mere  operation  of  cold 
intellectual  direction.  The  affections,  the  imagination, 
must  join  the  combination  to  give  force  and  power.  In 
the  spring-time  of  youth,  when  impulses  are  warmest, 
there  must  be  planted,  watered,  and  reared  the  ennobling 
sentiments  which  make  the  patriot  endure  through  man- 
hood and  old  age.  Thus  do  the  recollections  of  patriotic 
wars  come  down  through  long  years  of  passing  time, 
moulding  and  ennobling  national  character. 

While  some  wars  have  been  destructive  of  learning, 
others  have  restored  arts  and  science,  and  carried  knowl- 
edge from  people  to  people.  The  Crusades  brought 
back  the  light  of  Asia  into  the  darkness  of  Europe. 
They  were  the  most  senseless  of  enterprises.  Millions 
went  to  a  purposeless  death.  Peter  the  Hermit,  with 
his  crazy  mob  of  strangely  commingled  fanatics  and  out- 
laws ;  the  bands  of  children,  pitiable  in  ignorance  and 
innocence ;  and  the  mailed  ranks  of  Europe's  princes, 


170         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

alike  pursued  a  chimerical  idea.  They  alike  perished 
from  starvation,  disease,  and  battle.  It  would  seem  the 
saddest  exhibition  of  unmixed  calamity,  and  yet  it  led 
to  the  political  and  intellectual  regeneration  of  Europe. 

It  was  at  the  commencement  of  the  Crusades  over- 
shadowed by  dense  ignorance.  The  barbaric  had  over- 
run the  enhghtened  portion.  Like  an  avalanche  from 
the  mountains,  desolating  the  peaceful  valleys,  the 
strange  hordes  of  the  northern  hive  spread  ruin  over 
the  civilization  and  refinement  of  the  south.  The 
gathered  lore  of  ages  perished  from  the  torch  of  the 
ignorant  invader.  Brute  force  usurped  the  place  of 
science.  The  sword  swept  away  the  achievements  of 
the  pen.  Arts  fled  affrighted  from  the  realms  of  Chris- 
tianity and  took  refuge  in  the  halls  of  the  infidel  but 
elegant  Mohammedan.  All  of  learning  that  remained 
lay  hidden  in  the  cloisters  of  the  monk.  Even  royalty 
delighted  in  ignorance,  and  England's  powerful  king, 
when  about  to  sign  the  treaty,  dipped  his  brawny  hand 
in  the  ink,  and,  smiting  the  parchment,  declared  such 
to  be  the  signature  of  Coeur  de  Lion.  But  the  return- 
ing Crusaders  brought  back  new  ideas,  and  their  com- 
munication with  the  more  learned  East  enabled  them 
to  sow  again  in  Western  Europe  the  seeds  of  a  mental 
revival  that  has  continued  unchecked  to  our  own  period. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Crusades  Europe  was 
likewise  in  the  worst  of  political  situations.  Feudalism 
had  broken  the  nations  into  a  thousand  petty  tyrannies. 
A  system  once  necessary  as  the  first  advance  from  the 
savage  tribal  relation,  it  was  antagonistic  to  tlie  consoli- 
dated governments  demantled  by  advancing  civilization, 
but  it  had  become  so  thoroughly  intrenched  that  sover- 


ADDRESS  BY  CAPTAIN  EUGENE  M.   WILSON,     ly^ 

eignty  could  not  control  it.  The  great  nobles  were  too 
powerful  for  the  kings,  and  the  petty  ones  were  little 
better  than  couiraon  highwaymen.  They  were  unwill- 
ing to  surrender  any  of  their  lawless  and  iniquitous 
power ;  but  as  the  Lord  sent  Pharaoh  into  the  Red  Sea, 
so  he  impelled  these  local  tyrants  by  the  power  of 
fanaticism  to  the  plains  of  Asia,  there  to  waste  their 
health,  wealth,  and  power,  until  over  their  weakness 
general  governments  could  be  firmly  established. 

The  first  French  Revolution  was  marked  with  ex- 
cesses of  the  most  horrible  kind.  Thousands  who 
ranged  themselves  under  the  banner  of  liberty  did 
nothing  but  commit  crimes  and  demonstrate  their  utter 
incapacity  for  self-government.  The  popular  excesses 
led  by  natural  reflex  sequence  to  the  empire.  But  after 
all  is  added  up  and  compared,  the  balance  of  result 
must  be  struck  in  favor  of  good.  The  hold  of  a  tyran- 
nical sovereignty  and  a  wicked  nobility  was  loosened, 
never  again  to  be  grasped  with  a  firm  hand.  Ideas 
entered  the  popular  mind  which,  though  then,  from  the 
ill-ordered  condition  of  the  soil,  producing  a  rank  and 
noxious  growth,  were  yet  never  rooted  out,  and  under 
the  mellowing  sunshine  of  time  and  experience  grew 
into  "  trees  for  the  healing  of  the  nations."  Monarchy 
was  never  again  easy  in  France,  and  after  various  un- 
successful attempts  it  presents  a  republican  government, 
with  fair  promise  of  beneficent  permanency. 

No  peoi^le  have  ever  extracted  more  blessings  from 
war  than  the  United  States.  The  early  conflicts  of  the 
Colonies  with  the  Indians,  though  attended  with  much 
injustice  and  cruelty,  yet  opened  a  continent  to  the 
progress  of  civilization.    They  took  from  barbarism  that 


172         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

which  it  could  not  enjoy  in  accordance  with  the  economy 
of  human  life.  There  is  no  just  principle  requiring 
the  maintenance  of  vast  areas  of  land  in  wilderness  and 
solitude  for  the  support  and  amusement  of  a  few. 

Next  was  the  change  from  foreign  dependence  to  the 
newer  theory  of  independent  popular  government, — 
the  change  from  tlie  subject  to  the  citizen ;  the  change 
from  enforced  obedience  to  full  trust  and  confidence  in 
the  people.  This  could  never  have  been  accomplished 
except  through  the  purifying  fires  of  the  Kevolution. 
Peaceful  separation  would  have  left  the  old  roots,  and 
the  growth  would  have  been  similar.  It  required  seven 
years  of  struggle  and  the  shedding  of  patriotic  blood  to 
make  us  appreciate  the  priceless  value  of  liberty.  It  re- 
quired the  lustre  of  such  names  as  Washington,  Greene, 
Gates,  Putnam,  Sumter,  Warren,  and  La  Fayette  to  gar- 
nish the  heritage  of  a  nation's  weal.  It  required  suffer- 
ing and  sacrifice  to  lay  deep  the  foundations  of  our 
government  and  make  it  endure,  until  the  ship  of  state, 
strengthened  by  time,  could  outride  all  storms,  whether 
blown  from  kind  or  blown  from  sea;  and  as  in  earlier 
years  it  was  furiously  rocked  in  the  billows  of  popular 
excitement,  local  discontent,  and  State  jealousy,  so  it 
would  undoubtedly  have  been  shattered  into  fragments 
but  for  the  sacred  bonds  that  bound  it  together  in  such 
hallowed  recollections  as  Yorktown,  Saratoga,  Valley 
Forge,  Trenton,  and  Bunker  Hill. 

And  again :  the  Napoleonic  wars  gave  us  Louisiana 
and  the  great  Northwest.  Had  this  remained  then 
with  the  Spaniard,  it  would  have  remained  so  to-day. 
Spanish  pride  always  holds  on,  if  possible,  to  its  landed 
possessions.     Its  tenacity  in  retention  of  realty  is  in 


ADDRESS  BY  CAPTAIN  EUGENE  M.   WILSON     173 

direct  ratio  to  its  weakening  power.  It  is  the  one 
emblem  of  departed  greatness.  We  could  not  have 
acquired  it  by  force.  The  jealousy  of  European  na- 
tions would  have  prevented  our  making  in  this  manner 
so  large  an  acquisition  of  territory.  From  the  middle 
of  the  Mississippi  westward  would  still  have  been 
Spanish.  We  could  not  go  to  the  Gulf  except  through 
the  land  of  a  stranger.  All  west  of  the  great  Father 
of  Waters  would  have  been  the  home  of  the  Indian  or 
the  neglected  ranch  of  some  dignified  Don.  There 
might  possibly  have  been  an  American  settlement  here 
to-night,  but  we  could  have  adjourned  to  a  cock-fight 
in  West  St.  Paul  and  made  appointment  to  attend  a 
"bull-fight"  in  Minneapolis  next  Sunday. 

But  when  Napoleon  gathered  in  Spain  as  part  of  his 
European  plantation,  he  gave  himself  Louisiana  as  part 
of  a  premeditated  scheme  of  French  foreign  aggran- 
dizement. But  further  reflection  convinced  him  of  the 
futility  of  such  policy.  All-powerful  on  land,  he  had 
never  been  successful  at  sea.  He  was  forced  to  ac- 
knowledge the  water  as  England's  domain.  In  contem- 
plation of  unavoidable  hostilities  with  that  nation,  he 
knew  the  first  result  would  be  the  conquest  of  his 
foreign  possessions.  Louisiana  would  remain  to  the 
French  no  longer  than  Ens-land  could  send  a  fleet  to 
take  possession.  Thus  we  were  enabled  to  buy  what  he 
could  not  keep, — what  was  worthless  to  him,  but  price- 
less to  us.  The  possession  of  Louisiana  forced  Florida 
to  follow.  The  undefined  and  unsettled  boundary  be- 
tween the  two  rendered  national  dispute  inevitable,  and 
Spain  was  compelled  to  sell,  because  the  loss  of  Louisi- 
ana rendered  Florida  untenable. 


174         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  KATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

And  next  came  Texas  and  the  Californias.  When 
the  small  band  of  Texans  revolted  against  the  authority 
of  Mexico  it  seemed  a  wild,  chimerical  undertaking, 
with  no  probable  result  but  bloodshed  and  misery ;  but 
Crockett  and  Bowie  and  their  compatriot^,  than  whom 
braver  men  never  lived,  f\iced  inevitable  death  at  the 
Alamo  and  stayed  the  Mexican  army  until  Houston 
could  prepare  for  victory.  The  great  land  became  ours. 
A  disputed  boundary  brought  on  the  Mexican  war  of 
1847,  and  the  result  rounded  out  our  territory  to  the 
Pacific,  and  opened  to  civilization  and  commerce  a  vast 
land  unoccupied  for  centuries  past,  and  then  likely  to 
remain  in  the  same  condition  for  centuries  to  come. 

But  it  may  be  objected  that  though  the  result  of  this 
war  may  have  been  a  blessing  to  us,  it  was  far  other- 
wise to  the  Mexicans.  Very  true ;  but  in  estimating 
the  results,  I  am  but  summing  up  the  good  and  evil 
and  striking  the  balance  for  humanity  in  general. 
With  this  view  we  must  look  to  the  progress  of  the  two 
nations,  see  the  advancement  made  upon  the  American 
part  of  the  Pacific  coast,  and  compare  the  part  remain- 
ing with  the  Mexican.  See  San  Francisco,  a  municipal 
child  of  but  half  a  century,  surpassing  in  every  par- 
ticular the  chief  city  of  our  neighbor,  whose  birth  is 
back  in  the  mythical  era  of  history,  and  which  since 
the  days  of  Cortez  has  commanded  the  wealth  and  com- 
merce of  the  whole  Mexican  land.  See  our  mines,  in 
a  few  years  furnishing  as  much  bullion  as  Mexico  in 
three  hundred  years.  See  the  thousands  of  miles  of 
railroad,  over  which  pours  not  only  continental  but 
terrestrial  commerce.  Mexico  still  transports  with  the 
pack-mule  over  almost  impassable  highways,  excepting 


ADDRESS  BY  CAPTAIN  EUGENE  M.   WILSON     175 

the  few  late  and  brief  railroads  built  by  the  energy  and 
capital  of  our  citizens.  Our  acquisition  of  the  Mexican 
territory  is  now  of  real  benefit  to  Mexico.  She  did  not 
need  land,  she  needed  development.  She  needed  the 
aid  and  close  example  of  a  more  ^progressive  people. 
By  the  acquisition  of  her  territory  our  improvements 
were  brought  nearer  the  centre  of  Mexico ;  and  since 
the  era  of  good  feeling  has  arrived,  she  is  improving  at 
a  rate  not  dreamed  of  a  few  years  before. 

But  in  following  this  argument  we  may  come  down 
to  a  later  period ;  to  a  greater  war ;  to  a  conflict  where 
blood  and  treasure  were  poured  out  like  water ;  to  the 
sad  circumstance  of  fratricidal  strife.  No  witnesses  are 
needed  in  this  assembly, — none  to  prove  the  enormity 
of  suffering  and  sacrifice  ever  attendant  through  the 
three  years  of  that  calamitous  struggle.  Its  victims  are 
all  over  the  land.  They  lie  beneath  the  battle-fiehls 
that  cost  them  their  life.  They  sleep  in  the  national 
cemeteries.  Their  graves  look  down  from  Arlington 
Heights  upon  the  historic  Potomac.  They  lie  in  every 
part  of  that  "  human  slaughter-house,"  the  wilderness 
of  Virginia.  Upon  the  banks  of  the  fatal  James  for 
them  "  the  earth  heaves  in  many  a  mouldering  heap.'' 
They  are  where  the  fever-cursed  trenches  of  Vicksburg 
for  so  many  months  demanded  their  victims.  They  are 
upon  the  mountains  of  Tennessee,  which  in  silence  wit- 
nessed the  human  carnage,  and  in  towering  grandeur 
milked  the  clouds  with  their  streams,  and  sent  blood 
and  water  commingled  down  to  the  astonished  valleys 
below.  Through  the  fertile  meadows  of  Kentucky,  by 
the  black  waters  of  Arkansas,  under  the  beautiful  mag- 
nolias of  Louisiana,  on  the  savannas  of  Alabama  and 


I^JQ         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

Georgia,  they  sleep  their  last  sleep ;  many  in  spots  un- 
marked and  unknown,  with  none  but  the  birds  to  sing 
their  requiem,  and  some  deep  down  in  the  caverns  of 

old  ocean, — 

"  With  naught  but  the  sea-star 
To  light  up  their  tomb." 

But  had  this  loss  no  compensation  ?   Did  it  not  prove 
our  government  strong  in  the  one  point  where  it  was 
vulnerable  ?    Did  it  not  show  that  secession  was  impos- 
sible, and  disunion  a  thought  that  could  never  reach 
fruition  ?    And  was  not  that  most  splendid  exhibition  of 
entlmsiastic  patriotism  a  safe  harbinger  of  the  nation's 
integrity  ?    When  the  demon  of  domestic  discord  raised 
its  liead,  when  it  was  sought   to  divide   the  land  of 
Washington,   the  heroes  of   the   Revolution  arose  in 
silent  grandeur  in  the  memories  of  their  descendants, 
and  animated  the  souls  of  new  heroes  to  new  deeds  of 
glory.      No  year  ever  saw  a  more  splendid  uprising. 
The  spirit  flashed  like  electric  fluid  through  the  land. 
From   the   forests   and  seaports  of  Maine;   from  the 
granite  hills  and  Green  Mountains  of  New  Hampsliire 
and  Vermont ;  from  staid  Massachusetts,  little  Rhode 
Island,  and  thrifty  Connecticut,  there  was  heard  the 
universal  roll  of  the  drum.    They  came  marching  from 
every  avocation  of  life,  all  animated  by  a  common  im- 
pulse.   And  as  they  came  southward  they  found  in  line 
the  many  sons  of  the  great  Empire  State ;  and  then  the 
regiments  of  industrious  New  Jersey;  and  next  the 
legions  of  the  old  Keystone  Commonwealth,  swearing 
by  the  Constitution  of   their  fathers  that  the  grand 
arch  in  which  they  held  the  crowning-place  should 
remain  in  its  strength  and  its  beauty  though  the  land 


ADDRESS  BV  CAPTAIN  EUGENE  M.   WILSON     I77 

of  Pemi  should  be  decimated  to  maintain  it.  And  then 
they  heard  on  their  right  flank  the  tramp  of  a  mighty 
host,  and  saw  the  great  West  moving  to  their  support. 
From  the  thriving  towns,  rich  woodlands,  and  fertile 
plains  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  from  oif  the 
Great  Lakes  and  beyond  the  mighty  Mississij^pi,  came 
thousands  upon  thousands,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  all 
prompted  by  a  common  patriotic  thought.  It  was  a 
grand  uprising  of  intelligent  2:»atriotism,  and  made  our 
nation  great  in  showing  its  great  strength. 

But  the  chief  benefit  of  the  war  was,  of  course,  the 
abolition  of  negro  slavery.  Our  country  was  divided 
in  the  middle  on  that  question  and  questions  naturally 
connected  with  it.  This  conflict  was  an  unavoidable 
inheritance.  Looking  back  with  calmness,  I  am  con- 
vinced that  nothing  but  such  a  war  could  have  wiped 
out  this  national  curse.  The  necessary  sacrifices  for  an 
amicable  adjustment  would  never  have  been  consented 
to  by  either  side.  The  South,  from  social  considera- 
tions, would  not  have  accepted  compensation,  and  the 
North  would  not  have  consented  to  pay.  A  trial  of 
sectional  strength  was  inevitable,  and  tried  it  was.  The 
result  was  emancipation.  The  question,  the  right  of 
secession,  was  settled,  and  is  now  peacefully  and  cor- 
dially accepted.  Greater  harmony  than  ever  has  been 
produced  between  the  contending  sections,  because  they 
have  been  taught  the  mutual  respect  that  always  results 
from  well-fought  fields.  Brave  people  honor  each  other. 
War  does  not  make  a  savage,  but  often  begets  some  of 
the  highest  types  of  honor  and  chivalry.  It  is  well 
known  that  in  the  last  war  there  was  much  more  sec- 
tional bitterness  with  those  who  stayed  at  home  than 


12 


278         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

with  those  who  went  out  to  battle.  The  removal  of 
these  sectional  barriers  has  started  our  country  upon 
new  paths  of  progress,  and  as  we  view  its  unparalleled 
career,  and  think  of  the  few  years  passed  since  the 
bloody  fratricidal  strife,  we  can  but  pause  and  say, 
"  God  maketh  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him." 

But  I  must  not  forget  one  of  the  blessings  of  war, — 
its  friendships  and  memories  that  come  down  for  en- 
joyment in  such  gatherings  as  this.  If  there  had  not 
been  the  trials  and  glories  of  conflict,  there  would  have 
been  no  Loyal  Legion.  If  your  lives  had  been  passed 
in  the  continued  luxury  of  peace,  your  present  would 
have  been  less  enjoyable.  The  world  is  dull  to  him 
who  has  seen  nothing  but  its  treeless  plains.  You  must 
view  the  mountains  and  their  torrents  to  appreciate  the 
beauties  of  valleys  and  meandering  brooks.  The  com- 
forts of  your  homes,  the  ease  and  luxury  of  your  pres- 
ent lives,  are  much  enhanced  by  the  comparison  with 
the  trials,  labors,  and  achievements  of  your  youth.  It 
is  no  light  pleasure  to  be  quartered  amid  the  ease  of 
this  elegant  hostelry,  surrounded  by  friends  in  social 
converse,  recounting  the  storms  of  war,  the  conflicts 
that  gave  a  nation  new  birth,  the  imposing  events  that 
preserved  a  national  heritage  for  yourselves,  your  chil- 
dren, and  your  children's  children,  and  to  be  enabled 
to  say  with  the  great  Trojan,  "  Quorum  pars  fuV 

History  is  full  to  repletion  of  incidents  sustaining 
my  argument.  Time  only  permits  reference  to  the  few 
familiar  ones  cited.  But,  after  all,  there  stands  forth 
the  prominent  fact  that  war  only  hath  its  blessings  in 
promoting  the  greater  blessings  of  peace. 


FROM  CHANCELLORSVILLE  TO  LIBBY 
PRISON. 

BY   EET.  CLAT  MacCATILET, 

LATB  LnSDTENANT   ONE    HUNDRED    AND  TWENTY-SIXTH    PENNSYLVANIA   INFANTBT, 
U.  S.  VOLUNTEERS. 


To-MOEROW  evening  it  will  be  just  twenty-three 
years  since  I  took  a  train  on  the  Richmond  and  Fred- 
ericksburg Railway  for  a  trip  to  the  city  of  Richmond, 
Virginia.  As  the  causes  which  led  me  to  make  the 
journey  and  the  experiences  which  followed  it  have 
possibly  more  than  a  mere  personal  interest,  I  venture 
to  respond  to  the  invitation  to  read  a  paper  before  you, 
with  some  memories  of  that  eventful  episode  in  my 
career.  I  do  not  pretend  to  offer  instruction  as  a  mili- 
tary scientist,  or,  indeed,  to  put  upon  record  very  valu- 
able historical  information.  But  the  episode  was  some- 
what unique,  and  may  claim  general  interest,  although, 
perforce,  in  recounting  it  I  shall  have  to  repeat  the 
first  personal  pronoun  frequently,  and  make  myself  the 
central  figure  in  the  story.  Whether  or  not  what  I 
have  to  say  will  excuse  the  personal  element  can  be 
answered  when  the  tale  is  told. 

I  did  not  take  that  train  for  Richmond  voluntarily. 
There  was  nothing  attractive  about  it.  Certainly  it 
was  not  composed  of  palace-sleepers  with  dining-car 

179 


130         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

attachment.  The  simple  fact  is,  I  was  a  prisoner  of 
war,  captured  the  j^receding  Sunday  in  the  battle  of 
Chancellorsville,  and  was  on  the  way  to  Richmond  in 
far  different  manner  from  that  which  I  had  had  in 
prospect  when,  ten  days  before,  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac quit  camp  on  Falmouth  Heights. 

You  remember  how  disastrous  a  battle  that  of  Chan- 
cellorsville was.  Military  critics  have  thoroughly  an- 
alyzed it,  and  have  laid  the  responsibility  for  the  defeat 
on  whom  it  belongs.  With  the  battle  as  a  whole,  how- 
ever, I  have  nothing  to  do.  I  know  only  that  the  cul- 
mination of  the  calamity  came  Sunday  morning  between 
eight  and  ten  o'clock.  General  Abner  Doubleday,  in 
his  graphic  description  of  the  engagement,  tells  of  a 
part  of  this  crisis  in  these  words:  "The  struggle  in- 
creased in  violence.  The  rebels  were  determined  to 
break  through  the  lines,  and  our  men  equally  deter- 
mined not  to  give  way.  Well  might  De  Trobriand 
style  it  *  a  mad  and  desperate  battle.'  Again  E-hodes's 
and  Hill's  divisions  renewed  the  attempt  and  were  tem- 
jwrarily  successful,  and  again  was  the  bleeding  remnant 
of  their  forces  flung  back  in  disorder."  The  moment- 
ous event  for  me  occurred  during  that  temporary  suc- 
cess of  Generals  Kliodes  and  Hill. 

But  let  me  say  a  few  words  of  what  happened  prior 
to  this  occurrence.  I  was  a  lieutenant  in  a  Pennsylva- 
nia regiment,  in  Humphreys's  divisioi;,  the  Tliird  of  the 
Fifth  Corps.  This  division  had  had  hard  marching 
and  excessive  labor  for  its  share  ever  since  we  broke 
camp  on  Monday,  April  27.  We  had  made  a  long, 
raj)i(l  detour  towards  our  objective-point  by  way  of 
Kelly's  and   Ely's   Fords  on   the  Pappahannock  and 


ADDRESS  BY  REV.  CLAY  MacCAULEY.  181 

Rapidan  Rivers.  At  Kelly's  Ford  we  were  detailed  to 
serve  as  the  rear-guard  of  tlie  Eleventh  and  Twelfth 
Corps.  Our  work  was  to  take  up  pontoons  from  streams 
swollen  by  heavy  rains,  and  to  move  by  night  and  by 
forced  marches.  A  brief  journal,  kept  at  the  time,  has 
this  record  of  April  30:  "An  awful,  terrible  march. 
My  feet  are  very  sore  and  blistered.  Had  to  cut  open 
my  boots." 

Looking  back  on  the  campaign,  it  now  appears  that 
it  was  not  the  original  intention  of  General  Hooker  to 
use  us  for  fighting.  Our  term  of  enlistment  was  to 
expire  in  a  short  time,  and  he  apparently  had  decided 
to  make  of  our  division  a  sort  of  factotum  for  the  army 
in  his  preparations  for  the  conflict.  In  this  duty  Friday 
became  a  day  for  our  division  which  none  of  us  will 
ever  forget.  Already  we  had  been  pretty  well  used  up 
by  our  night  marching  and  hard  work.  But  on  that 
day  was  a  grand  climax.  We  made  a  quick-time  re- 
connoissance  to  Banks's  Ford,  five  miles  away  on  the 
rebel  right.  Reaching  that,  we  were  suddenly  about- 
faced,  and  returned  on  a  double-quick  to  our  starting- 
place.  It  seemed  at  times  in  that  movement  that 
human  endurance  could  last  no  longer.  Upon  our 
return  fierce  skirmishing  on  our  centre  at  Slocum's 
corps,  of  which  we  had  some  leaden  tokens,  was  not  at 
all  cheerins:  under  the  circumstances.  At  last,  how- 
ever,  our  tribulations  seemed  to  have  passed.  Before 
nightfall  we  were  in  position  on  the  extreme  left,  on  a 
high  bluff  in  a  beautiful  wood,  our  own  left  resting  on 
the  river-bank,  covering  our  army's  important  line  of 
retreat  and  supply,  the  United  States  Ford  on  the  Rap- 
pahannock.    Then  we  concluded   that  our  army  was 


182         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

finally  in  position,  and  that  our  division  had  been  as- 
signed to  a  place  wholly  free  from  peril  of  balls  or 
assault.  Nothing  of  the  enemy  could  be  seen  or  heard 
at  our  front.  We  threw  up  intrenchments  and  began 
to  "take  things  easy."  We  were  a  comfortable  crowd 
that  1st  of  May  evening,  tired  though  we  were.  We 
could  hear  distant  skirmishing.  We  were  nearly  three 
miles  away  from  the  ]3oint  of  rebel  resistance  to 
Hooker's  advance,  and  on  impregnable  heights.  Over 
our  pipes  we  talked  of  the  day's  events.  There  was, 
first,  our  commander's  great  boast  in  General  Order  No. 
47,  which  had  been  read  to  us  that  morning,  to  the 
effect  that  we  had  "  completely  surrounded  the  rebels," 
and  that  they  would  "either  have  to  fly  ingloriously  or 
come  out  from  their  breastworks,  where  destruction  was 
certain,"  and  that  "the  operations  of  the  Fifth,  Eleventh, 
and  Twelfth  Corps  were  a  series  of  splendid  achieve- 
ments." This  was  very  flattering  and  reassuring.  Then 
we  had  considerable  fun  over  an  incident  which  fell  to  us 
in  our  swift  reconnoissance  on  the  river  road  to  Banks's 
Ford.  We  had  passed  through  a  rebel  camp,  apparently 
hastily  deserted  at  our  approach.  Tents  had  been  left 
standing,  fires  burning,  clothing,  food,  and  utensils  scat- 
tered about  on  the  ground,  two  caissons  broken  down 
and  deserted  in  the  road,  and  ammunition  upset  and 
left  by  men  too  much  in  a  hurry  to  gather  it  up.  I  am 
saying  only  what  we  thought.  I  do  not  know  that  we 
had  frightened  anybody,  but  the  supposition  that  our 
coming  had  set  them  to  going  made  us  feel  comfortable. 
In  this  cheerful  mood  at  length  we  fell  into  a  well- 
earned  sleej:)  on  the  soft  leaves  under  the  great  trees 
that  bright  and  perfect  May-day  night. 


ADDRESS  BY  REV.  CLAY  MacCAULEY.  183 

Just  a  word  in  passing  of  the  kind  of  country  in 
which  the  Chancellorsville  fight  took  place.  Very 
little  of  that  region  was  open  space.  For  the  most 
part  it  was  heavily  wooded,  the  woods  densely  under- 
grown,  and  almost  impassable.  The  famous  plank 
roads  and  a  turnpike  were  the  only  continuous  clear 
stretches  through  the  wilderness,  excepting  two  or  three 
quite  obscure  and  primitive  woodways.  Add  to  these 
characteristics  a  few  houses  with  small  clearings  about 
them,  some  low  heights,  several  wide  marshes  and  small 
streams,  and  you  have  an  idea  of  the  Chancellorsville 
t0230graphy  in  general.  These  peculiarities  made  the 
disposition  and  movement  of  troops  exceedingly  difii- 
cult.  And  to  these  peculiarities,  in  large  part,  may  be 
attributed  the  success  of  Stonewall  Jackson's  terrible 
and  decisive  descent  upon  our  extreme  right  Saturday 
evening. 

To  continue :  Friday  night  passed  for  us  in  almost 
unbroken  sleep.  We  woke  that  fateful  Saturday  morn- 
ing well  rested,  and  confident  that  before  the  day  should 
close  our  centre  and  right  would  break  the  rebel  oppo- 
sition to  Hooker's  advance  and  clear  the  road  for  our 
long-desired  movement  towards  the  rebel  capital.  Sat- 
urday was  very  quiet  on  the  left.  We  lay  lazily  about 
doing  nothing.  The  distant  fighting  at  the  centre  con- 
tinued through  most  of  the  day.  The  sound  of  the 
musketry  firing  and  of  the  cannonading  rose  and  fell 
like  that  of  a  passing  thunder-storm.  At  times  it 
seemed  like  the  booming  and  dash  from  a  wave- beaten 
shore,  carried  to  the  ear  on  the  gusts  of  a  fitful  wind. 
Nothing  eventful  took  place  for  us  except  the  mild  ex- 
citement of  seeing  a  small  battery  drag  into  place  at 


134         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

our  left.  We  ate,  slept,  smoked,  and  talked.  Towards 
evening  an  accidental  shot  by  one  of  our  pickets  brought 
us  to  arms,  but  we  soon  broke  ranks.  We  did  not  know 
that  the  great  genius  of  the  Southern  armies  was  just 
then  executing  one  of  his  boldest  and  most  masterly 
movements, — the  movement  so  fraught  with  doom  to 
Hooker's  army.  He  had  taken  his  twenty-six  thousand 
men,  cut  himself  free  from  Lee,  and  by  an  obscure 
road  was  speeding  towards  the  listless  Eleventh  Corps. 
We  heard  a  violent  outburst  of  battle  towards  sundown, 
but  did  not  know  then  that  Jackson's  forces,  like  a 
mighty  torrent,  had  swept  down  on  our  extreme  right, 
and  that  that,  almost  like  a  sand-heap,  had  been  trailed 
out  into  the  wilderness  and  left  there  unguarded.  It  was 
this  decisive  event  of  the  battle  that  brought  about  the 
disaster  which  befell  us  of  Humphreys's  division,  so  com- 
fortable then  in  our  ease  and  safety  on  the  left.  It  is 
said  that  so  ill-guarded  was  the  extreme  right  of  our 
army  that  Jackson's  attack  upon  it  was  almost  a  com- 
plete surprise,  that  "  the  front  rank  of  the  rebels  came 
in  almost  simultaneously  with  our  pickets."  The  result 
was  that  Jackson  fairly  put  the  Eleventh  Corps  to  rout, 
and  left  it  for  the  rest  of  the  battle  hors  du  combat. 
Though  ignorant  of  its  purport,  I  heard  the  crash  of 
the  far-off  conflict.  It  was  midnight  before  I  fell  asleep. 
The  next  morning,  Sunday,  we  were  awakened  at 
daybreak  by  a  heavy,  irregular  trampling  at  our  rear. 
Looking  around,  I  saw  trailing  along  among  the  trees 
a  broken  and  most  demoralized-looking  hue  of  soldiers. 
I  instantly  felt  what  it  meant.  Our  time  had  come. 
We  must  go  into  action.  We  soon  learned  that  this 
was  the  remnant  of  the  Eleventh  Corps,  and  that  it 


ADDRESS  BY  REV.  CLAY  MacCAULEY.  185 

liad  been  sent  to  occupy  our  safe  place.  Then  in  our 
division  all  was  bustle  and  jDreparation.  Coffee  and 
liard-tack  were  soon  swallowed.  With  the  risen  sun 
we  were  off,  going  at  a  double-quick,  towards  the  right, 
where  desperate  fighting  had  already  been  renewed.  In 
a  short  time  we  were  under  shell  fire.  Near  the  Chan- 
cellorsville  House  we  were  halted.  Our  three  miles'  run 
had  been  a  pretty  severe  beginning  for  the  day.  We 
lay  there  under  fire  for  near  an  hour.  Then  in  column 
we  moved  on  past  the  ^famous  house,  past  the  forty 
guns  which  had  been  massed  in  the  open  space  beyond 
the  house,  and  towards  the  woods,  where,  at  the  right, 
a  sharp  crashing  whirr  of  musketry  rose  above  all  the 
other  dreadful  sounds  which  filled  the  air.  There  the 
horrors  of  war  began  to  appear.  In  our  way  numbers 
from  the  regiments  which  had  preceded  us  had  met 
with  wounds  and  death.  We  made  a  short  halt  where 
these  dead  and  wounded  were  lying.  This  was  a  most 
trying  experience.  Had  the  stop  continued  long  it 
might  have  been  demoralizing.  Witli  nothing  to  do 
and  with  mutilation  and  death  visible  at  our  very  feet, 
and  with  peril  to  ourselves  increasing,  rather  large 
drafts  were  made  on  our  moral  forces.  Fortunately, 
the  halt  was  but  for  a  moment.  Then,  by  the  right 
flank,  we  advanced  in  line  of  battle.  What  an  ad- 
vance !  Leaving  the  open  field  we  entered  the  wilder- 
ness. Our  progress  was,  for  the  most  part,  a  mere 
scramble  over  logs,  through  dense  underbrush,  briers, 
and  in  mud.  We  were  scratched  and  bruised,  and  our 
clothing  was  torn.  We  pushed  on,  for  perhaps  a  hun- 
dred yards,  into  the  thicket.  There  in  a  somewdiat 
thinner  woods  we  halted,  and,  when  in  line,  lay  down 


186         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

and  began  to  load  and  fire  at  will.  It  was  an  ugly 
give  and  take.  We  could  not  see  the  enemy,  but  the 
whizz  and  ting  of  bullets  i^roved  that  they  were  not 
far  away.  How  long  this  aimless  firing  continued  I 
do  not  know.  As  the  excitement  grew  several  of  the 
men  rose  to  their  feet,  fired,  and  remained  standing  to 
load  and  fire.  By  a  little  experience  just  then  I  real- 
ized how  much  support  numbers  may  be  to  each  in  a 
common  danger.  One  of  my  men  in  his  haste  had 
fired  off  his  ramrod ;  he  held  up  the  musket  that  I 
might  see  what  he  had  done.  Without  thinking  I 
started  to  the  rear,  where,  a  short  distance  away,  lay  a 
musket.  No  sooner  had  I  left  touching  distance  of 
my  company  when  an  irresistible  sense  of  loneliness 
and  dread  seized  me.  Each  step  away  made  the  sen- 
sation more  acute.  Soon  I  was  practically  panic- 
stricken.  Somehow,  however,  I  got  the  ramrod  of  the 
useless  musket.  I  went  back  to  the  line  on  the  run. 
With  the  return  came  assurance  and  courage.  I  never 
felt  more  alone  or  helpless  than  in  those  few  moments 
of  isolation  from  my  comrades.  The  air  seemed  full 
of  hissing,  shrieking  demons.  I  was  sure  that  each 
next  moment  would  bring  death. 

The  fight  went  on.  So  continuous  had  been  the 
firing,  that  the  underbrush  at  our  front  was  literally 
cut  down  at  about  waist  height.  Gradually  I  saw  one 
after  another  of  our  men  cease  firing.  Ammunition 
was  exhausted.  We  called  for  supplies.  None  were 
to  be  had.  Something  had  gone  wrong.  The  men 
began  to  feel  it.  As  our  firing  slackened  I  noticed  a 
foreboding  disorder  on  our  right.  Then  a  feeling  of 
suspense  and  doubt  seemed  to  thrill  along  the  line. 


ADDRESS  BY  REV.   CLAY  MacCAULEY.  I87 

About  that  time  I  felt  a  blow  on  my  right  side,  as  if  I 
had  been  struck  by  a  heavy  hammer.  A  spent  ball 
had  hit  me,  the  effects  of  which  I  feh  for  a  year  there- 
after. The  disorder,  changing  into  tumult,  came  near 
and  nearer.  At  last  it  swept  in  upon  the  company 
next  to  mine.  Then  it  struck  my  own  company's 
right.  The  companies,  rising  in  successive  ranks  from 
the  ground,  the  men  with  questioning  looks  at  one 
another,  started  at  first  slowly  and  then  rapidly  back- 
ward. It  was  not  a  panic.  It  was  a  rather  disorderly 
falling  back  of  ahnost  helpless  men,  from  a  coming 
danger  they  felt  themselves  powerless  to  resist.  They 
were  good  soldiers.  They  had  led  in  the  boldest  and 
forthest  charge  made  by  the  Union  forces  up  Marye's 
Heights  at  Fredericksburg,  the  preceding  December. 
I  did  not  happen  to  be  with  them  then,  but  I  read  that 
that  charge  was  characterized  by  the  rebel  General 
Hansom  as  "  a  last  desperate  and  maddened  attack." 
The  division,  in  that  assault,  had  had  more  than  a 
thousand  men  killed  and  wounded  in  its  two  brigades. 
But  what  can  men  do  when  without  ammunition  they 
see  the  line  of  which  they  form  part  steadily  backing 
away  from  some  oncoming  force  ?  A  wave  rolling 
backward  on  a  curving  beach  does  not  more  steadily 
sweep  broken  on  its  way  than  did  the  retreat  of  our 
battle  line  from  right  to  left  that  Sunday  morning. 
The  rebels,  discovering  that  our  ammunition  was  ex- 
hausted, had  charged  upon  us,  striking  our  extreme 
right  much  as  one  arm  of  the  letter  A  meets  the  other. 
What  then  happened  to  me  a  letter  written  not  long 
afterwards  describes  in  these  words :  "  Soon  I  found 
myself  alone.     I  saw  that  I  must  run  or  be  killed.     I 


Igg         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

started  to  run,  but  after  a  few  steps  my  scabbard  cauglit 
between  my  legs  and  threw  me  down  upon  my  face. 
Up  again,  I  tried  to  break  through  the  bushes,  but  the 
bullets  were  whizzing  around  at  a  terrible  rate.     I  fell 
again,  and  was  so  exhausted  I  could  go  no  farther.     I 
crawled  alongside  one  of  the  wounded.     In  a  moment 
the  rebels  were  on  me."     I  remember  well,  now,  that 
poor  mangled  fellow,  at  whose  side  I  was.     Seeing  me 
he  had  begged  for  water.     I  was  about  to  give  him  my 
canteen,   when,    looking   up,   I    discovered    the   rebels 
rapidly  coming  through   the  brush.     Those  moments 
are  now  more  Uke  the  memory  of  some  dreadful  dream. 
Instinctively  I  started  to  rise.     But,  as  I  rose,  I  saw  a 
rebel  skirmisher  take  a  sudden  and  not  very  agreeable 
interest  in  me.     AVith  a  jerk  he  brought  his  musket  to 
a  direct  aim.     I  was  his  mark.     Probably  you  under- 
stand just  what  it  is  to  look  into  a  loaded  gun,  whose 
hammer  is  up  and  whose  trigger  is  under  the  finger  of 
a  man  who  would  just  as  soon  pull  as  not.     Under  the 
circumstances,  naturally,  I  remained  just  where  I  was, 
in  a  half-risen  posture.     For  several  seconds  I  looked 
into  the  muzzle  of  that  advancing  musket.     I  saw,  as 
in  a  mist,  many  moving  men,  and  heard  the  noise  of 
their  rush.     But  my  brain  was  concentrated  on   that 
one  advancing  figure.     He  came  upon  me  swifter  than 
I  can  write  of  him.     When  within  a  few  paces,  down 
came  the  gun  to  a  charge,  and  with  the  bayonet  at  my 

breast  he  yelled  out,  "  You of  a , 

give  me  that  sword."  While  he  spoke  the  rebel  line 
came  up.  It  passed  with  a  rush.  Two  regiments  deep 
they  were.  I  afterwards  learned  that  the  Sixth  and 
Fifth  xVlabamas  were  at  our  immediate  front.    My  cap- 


ADDRESS  BY  REV.   CLAY  MacCAULEY.  189 

tor,  a  big,  tawny-bearded  fellow,  noticing  that  I  was  but 
a  boy,  changed  his  manner  at  once  as  I  gave  him  my 
sword.     Seeing  that  I  did  not  rise,  he  asked  me  if  I 
was  hurt.      "I   do   not  know,"  I   replied.     I  added, 
"  Get  me  out  of  this  as  quick  as  you  can."     I  suddenly 
remembered   that  just  beyond  where  we  had  entered 
the   tangle,   in   the  open   space,   were   batteries,   about 
forty  guns,  planted  in  a  crescent  and  bearing  on  the 
woods.     I  thought  that  our  line  would  fall  back   to 
those  batteries  and  rally  there.    I  was  sure,  too,  that,  as 
soon   as   the  rebels  should  appear  at  the  edge  of  the 
woods,  something  would  happen.     I  had  no  desire  to  be 
killed  by  grape,  canister,  shell,  or  anything  else  from 
our  own  guns.     I  therefore  urged  our  retreat  into  the 
rebel  lines  as  quickly  as  possible.     My  new  acquaint- 
ance from  Alabama  agreed  with  me.     He  put  a  strong 
arm  under  my  shoulders  and,  half  carrying  me,  started 
for  the  rear.     I  cannot  tell  how  far  we  had  gone— per- 
haps it  was  a  hundred  yards — when  the  expected  some- 
thing happened.     It  seemed  as  if  a  tornado  out  of  a 
clear  sky  had,  all  at  once,  burst  upon  that  forest.     We 
had  just  reached  a  breastwork  and  where  there  was 
quite  a  deep  hole.     With  the  first  crash,  into  that  hole 
we  fell.     For  about  ten  minutes  a  roaring  torrent  of 
iron    plunged    through  the   air    above    us.     We  were 
almost  covered  by  fallen  tree-hmbs  and  branches.     The 
noise  was  horrible.     Gradually  the  devastating  stream 
ceased,  but  as  it  slackened  back  came  the  rebel  crowd 
all  in  disorder,  really  a  "  bleeding  remnant,"  as  Gen- 
eral Doubleday  writes  of  it.     Back  with  the  retreat- 
ino-  rebels  we  two  scrambled  towards  the  farther  rear. 
Soon    the    rebels    halted   under   the   shouts   of    their 


190         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

officers.  I  was  carried  on  to  where  I  at  lengtli  met 
General  Rhodes,  to  whom  I  surrendered  and  by  whom 
I  was  sent  still  farther  back.  Oar  way  lay  over  one 
of  the  plank  roads  so  much  spoken  of  in  connection 
with  the  fight.  On  this  the  struggle  of  the  day  and 
nidit  before  had  been  severest.  Our  own  and  the 
rebel  dead  by  the  score  lay  side  by  side  there.  Twice 
batteries  plunged  by  us,  the  hoofs  of  the  horses  and 
the  carriage-wheels  crushing  and  mutilating  the  dead 
bodies  of  friend  and  foe.  Along  the  roadside  were 
gathered  hundreds  of  wounded  of  both  armies.  Their 
only  shelter  from  the  blazing  sun  was  blankets  stretched 
over  them  and  held  in  place  by  the  c>osed  hammers 
of  four  muskets,  the  muskets  reversed  and  stuck  up- 
right by  their  bayonets  into  the  ground.  It  was  a 
sickening  march.  Rebel  reserves  passed  us,  hurrying 
to  the  front  on  double-quick.  Supplies  of  ammuni- 
tion were  being  carried  forward.  Farther  on,  we 
reached  what  I  was  told  had  been  the  front  line  of 
the  "  Yankee"  breastworks.  At  that  point  was  a 
house  filled  with  and  surrounded  by  wounded  and 
dying  from  the  hapless  Eleventh  Corps.  Many  evi- 
dences of  a  fearful  struggle  were  visible  there.  Leav- 
ing these,  we  soon  were  inside  the  original  rebel  posi- 
tion. I  was  delivered  over  to  an  officer  and  made 
oue  more  of  a  large  crowd  of  our  own  men  already 
gathered  there.  At  last,  then,  the  morning's  horror 
was  past.  I  threw  myself  upon  the  ground,  physically 
exhausted,  a  discouraged,  miserable  prisoner  of  war. 
Let  me  take  this  place  to  acknowledge,  however,  that 
from  the  rebels  who  dealt  with  us  on  the  battle-field 
we  received  nothing  except  kind  words  and  treatment. 


ADDRESS  BY  REV.  CLAY  MacCAULEY.  \(^\ 

From  the  moment  of  surrender  neither  abuse  nor  in- 
jury was  offered.  And  so  far  as  I  could  see  much  had 
been  done  by  the  rebels  for  our  wounded.  A  number 
of  our  own  surgeons  had  been  left  within  the  rebel 
lines,  while  rebel  surgeons  were  dividing  their  time 
between  the  injured  of  both  armies. 

After  a  short  rest  I  began  to  take  observations  of  my 
new  situation  and  surroundings.  One  of  the  things 
most  to  attract  attention  was  the  generally  miserable 
appearance  of  the  soldiers  of  Jackson's  corps.  Dirt 
and  tatters  seemed  to  be  the  rule  in  their  clothing,  and 
a  used-up,  emaciated  look  in  their  physique.  They 
were  what  one  would  call  a  hard-looking  crowd.  Kor 
could  one  style  them  'wearers  of  the  gray.  Dusty 
brown,  rather,  were  they,  from  their  rusty  slouch  hats, 
sandy  beards,  sallow  skins,  butternut  coats,  and  panta- 
loons down  to  their  mud-stained  shoes.  I  thought  them 
emaciated  I  said,  but  perhaps  I  would  better  say  that 
they  were  lank  and  lean.  Certainly  they  had  shown 
remarkable  endurance,  and  they  were  yet  able  to  do 
exhausting  and  desperate  work.  I  suppose  the  facts 
were  that  already  the  Confederacy  was  beginning  to 
suffer  from  poverty  in  its  quartermaster's  department, 
and  that,  accustomed  to  the  round,  well-fed  look  of  the 
soldiers  of  the  North,  I  could  not  judge  correctly  of 
men  who  had  become  chiefly  sinew  and  bone  by  such 
work  as  Stonewall  Jackson  demanded  of  them.  Never- 
theless, as  we  soon  found  out,  the  rebel  commissariat 
was  neither  well  filled  nor  luxurious.  One  of  our 
guards  gave  me  a  small  piece  of  his  hard-tack  for 
luncheon.  He  said  that  they  were  all  on  short  rations. 
We  officers,  as  it  proved,  were  unfortunate  in  having 


192         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

put  our  haversacks  on  pack-mules  that  morning  be- 
fore going  into  action.  Consequently  we  had  become 
in  every  sense  of  the  word  dependents  on  our  cap- 
tors' bounty.  How  generous  that  was  the  sequel  will 
show. 

Towards  noon  the  prisoners  were  formed  into  a  sort 
of  column,  the  members  of  numerous  Union  regiments 
ranked  side  by  side  as  chance  ordered,  and  were  started 
off  southward  on  a  road  towards  Spottsylvania  Court- 
House.  We  were  guarded  by  a  South  Carolina  regi- 
ment. As  we  marched,  it  was  about  fifteen  miles  to 
the  court-house,  which,  at  nightfall,  we  reached.  The 
officers  were  driven  into  the  court-house  yard,  where 
we  spent  the  night  on  the  grass  under  the  shelter  of 
the  overspreading  trees.  As  I  lay  there,  looking  up 
at  the  quiet  stars  and  sky,  I  realized  fully  for  the  first 
time  what  the  events  of  the  day  meant.  I  was  a  pris- 
oner and  doomed  to — I  could  not  tell  what.  I  dreaded 
the  fate  of  the  unknown  future,  but,  worse  than  all, 
I  suffered  from  thinking  of  the  suspense  of  the  father 
and  mother  at  home,  who  would  not  know  what  had 
become  of  the  boy  they  had  expected  so  soon  to  see. 
At  last  I  went  to  sleep  under  a  miserable  dei^ression  of 
brain  and  heart. 

We  were  on  the  road  early  the  next  morning.  We 
had  no  coffee  or  food  to  start  the  day  with.  Already 
some  of  us  had  begun  to  suffer  from  our  unusual  fast. 
Spottsylvania  Court-House  was  a  beautiful  place.  It 
was  not  a  town.  It  was  comj^osed  of  just  the  county 
building,  the  tavern,  a  house  or  two,  and  one  or  two 
country  churches.  But  there  were  open  and  green 
fields  there  and  beautiful  trees.     That  Monday's  march 


ADDRESS  BY  REV.  CLAY  MacCAULEY.  193 

was  silent  and  dreary.  We  saw  but  few  people  and 
passed  but  few  houses.  No  signs  of  war  were  apparent. 
Our  column  must  have  seemed  more  like  a  doleful  gang 
of  condemned  criminals  than  a  body  of  honorably  de- 
feated soldiers.  Most  of  us  were  in  a  sorry  condition 
from  bruises  and  scratches  inflicted  in  that  scramble  in 
the  wilderness.  The  clothing  of  some  was  so  torn  that 
arms,  legs,  and  even  breasts  were  laid  bare.  Only  the 
following  incidents  of  that  day  are  fresh  in  memory. 
During  one  of  our  halts  near  a  good-looking  house,  a 
woman  gave  to  the  major  commanding  our  guard  a 
small  rebel  flag,  which,  to  please  her,  he  flaunted  over 
us  as  he  rode  along,  with  the  declaration  that  now  we 
would  have  "  to  march  under  that  flag  for  a  while." 
This  was  the  first  real  insult  ofiered  us.  At  another 
place  a  pretty  little  woman  came  down  a  path,  running 
from  her  house  to  the  roadside,  fairly  wild  with  re- 
vengeful rage.  She  clasped  her  little  fists  and  shook 
them  at  us,  her  black  eyes  sparkling.  With  a  sort  of 
scream  she  cried  out,  "  Kill  'em  all,  colonel !  Kill  'em 
all  right  here  for  me !"  Colored  people  at  times  came 
out  from  their  cabins  to  look  at  us,  but  never  a  word 
said  they.  This  gloomy  march  lasted  for  about  thirteen 
miles.  Late  in  the  afternoon  we  crossed  the  Ny  River, 
reached  Guiney's  Station  on  the  Eichmond  and  Freder- 
icksburg Railway,  and  were  halted  in  a  low  meadow, 
which,  as  I  have  learned,  was  but  a  continuation  of 
what  is  called  Stannard's  Marsh.  We  were  near  a  mile 
northwest  of  the  depot.  Guiney's  was  at  that  time  the 
base  of  supplies  for  Lee's  army.  Monday  night  we 
slept  miserably,  those  who  slept  at  all.  The  ground 
was  soft  and  wet.     We  had  been  without  food  all  the 

13 


194         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

day.  We  did  not  have  even  the  comfort  of  fires.  The 
strain  began  to  tell.  But  we  had  reached  a  railroad. 
That  fact  had  some  cheer  in  it,  and  we  were  only  about 
forty-five  miles  from  Richmond. 

Tuesday  morning  dawned.  A  noticeable  stir  at  the 
station  aroused  our  interest.  The  rumor  spread  among 
us  that  the  rebels  had,  after  all,  been  whijDped.  Trains 
of  baggage-wagons  came  in  from  Fredericksburg,  their 
borses  on  the  gallop.  We  heard  a  report  that  the  rebels 
were  making  preparations  for  a  wholesale  removal  of 
their  supplies  towards  Richmond.  Hope  of  recapture 
by  our  own  men  sprang  up,  but  it  soon  fell.  Then  we 
made  a  demand  for  food.  We  were  answered  that  there 
was  none.  We  asked  for  Avood.  "  None  to  be  had," 
was  the  reply.  The  day  dragged  along.  In  the  after- 
noon a  wagon  was  driven  into  our  camp  with  "  rations," 
as  we  were  told.  It  brought  a  half-barrel  of  salt  beef 
and  a  barrel  of  flour.  These  rations  were  distributed, 
but  this  was  the  style  of  the  distribution  :  the  barrel  of 
flour  was  tumbled  from  the  wagon  onto  the  ground ;  it 
burst  open  where  it  fell.  At  the  side  of  the  flour  the 
beef  was  dropped.  Now,  hungry  as  we  were,  what 
could  we  do  with  either  flour  or  beef,  having  neither 
kettle  nor  fire  ?  So  there  lay  the  two  generous  gifts  of 
food,  and  continued  to  lie.  Gradually  the  flour  absorbed 
moisture  from  the  ground  and  became  a  dirty  brown 
paste.  The  beef  took  on  an  ironical  red,  white,  and 
blue  tint  from  exposure  to  the  air,  sun,  and  water. 
Some  of  us  tried  to  eat  of  the  pasty  flour ;  we  soon  had 
to  give  over  the  effort.  Then  we  began  to  long  for 
transportation  to  Richmond.  We  felt  sure  that  there 
we  should  get  both  shelter  and  something  to  eat.    Tues- 


ADDRESS  BY  REV.  CLAY  MagCAULEY.  I95 

day  night  came,  and  again  we  lay  down  for  a  night  in 
the  marshy  meadow. 

Wednesday  morning  arose  a  chilling  northeast  wind 
with  clouding  skies.  We  did  not  seem  to  have  any- 
thing to  wake  up  for.  That  camp  of  Union  soldiers 
was  almost  as  unhappy  a  looking  set  of  men  as  you 
could  bear  to  see.  Our  clothing  was  wet  through  and 
through  and  our  stomachs  still  empty.  A  few  of  us 
determined  that  if  possible  something  would  be  done. 
What  others  did  I  do  not  know.  This  story,  as  I  said 
at  the  outset,  centres  around  myself  Therefore  what 
three  others  did  with  me  to  solve  the  problem  I  can 
recount.  We  begged  permission  to  go  to  a  house  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  to  try  to  find  food.  Our 
request  was  granted,  and  a  kind-hearted  fellow  haj^- 
pened  to  be  detailed  as  our  guard.  With  some  renewed 
hope  we  began  our  foraging.  At  that  house  lay  Gen- 
eral Stonewall  Jackson,  dying.  From  our  guard  we 
learned  that  he  was  in  a  critical  condition.  We  did 
not  get  quite  to  the  house,  but  at  a  cabin  near  by  we 
found  an  old  colored  woman.  She  had  but  little.  We 
returned  to  the  camp,  however,  with  an  old  hen,  for 
which  we  paid  five  dollars  in  greenbacks,  and  with 
about  a  quart  of  cornmeal,  which  cost  us  one  dollar. 
On  the  way  back  our  soft-hearted  guard  led  us  by  a  tent 
near  the  railroad  and  allowed  us  to  pick  up  an  old  iron 
tea-kettle  lying  there.  Then  came  the  question  of  how 
to  cook  our  dinner.  Our  good  rebel  helped  us  to  gather 
a  quantity  of  small  sticks  on  the  banks  of  the  Ny.  In 
the  little  river  there  was  water,  more  than  we  needed. 
The  fire  problem,  however,  was  difficult  to  solve.  A 
knife  had  taken  off  the  hen's  head  and  anatomized  her, 


196         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

and  hen,  cornmeal,  and  water  had  been  well  mixed  to- 
gether in  the  kettle.  But  the  wood  was  damp  and  the 
ground  was  wet.  After  all  our  efforts  we  could  not  get 
quite  as  much  fire  as  smoke,  and  it  was  hard  work  hold- 
ing the  kettle  over  the  smoke.  Not  a  stone  to  rest  the 
kettle  upon  could  be  found.  Suddenly  in  the  midst  of 
our  proceedings  came  a  crisis  and  catastrophe.  The 
novel  soup  was  not  even  quite  lukewarm,  when  all  at 
once  the  officers  were  ordered  to  "  fall  in."  We  obeyed 
the  order  of  course,  but  each  of  us  four  took  place  in  the 
ranks  with  a  handful  of  dripping  chicken  and  warm 
cornmeal  to  carry  with  him.  One  of  our  number  still 
held  on  to  the  precious  kettle.  "  To  Richmond"  was  the 
cry.  With  this  prospect  to  stimulate  us,  we  started  for 
the  station.  On  the  way  we  disposed  of  our  chicken.  It 
was  almost  nightfall  when  we  reached  the  railroad.  By 
that  time  the  sky  was  densely  clouded.  Already  a  thick 
mist  was  driving  by  on  the  chill  wind.  "  Hoj)e  de- 
ferred maketh  the  heart  sick,"  it  is  written.  So  as  night 
closed  in  it  was  with  increasing  heaviness  of  heart  that 
in  vain  we  strained  our  eyes  to  find  the  cars  which  were 
to  take  us  away  from  that  place  of  torture.  All  was  in 
confusion  about  the  station.  Trains  and  cars  were  shunt- 
ing from  place  to  place ;  wagons  coming  and  going ; 
men  hurrying  to  and  fro.  The  hours  passed,  but 
nothing  came  for  us.  Eight,  nine  o'clock  were  gone. 
Kain  began  to  fall  and  a  fierce,  colder  wind  to  blow. 
Still  no  cars  for  us.  Instead,  when  it  was  near  ten 
o'clock,  we  were,  to  our  dismay,  dragged  back  to  the 
meadow.  Reaching  that,  we  found  it  changing  into  a 
veritable  swamp.  Water  seemed  to  ooze  up  out  of  the 
ground  as  well  as  to  j^our  down  from  the  clouds.     No 


ADDRESS  BY  REV.   CLAY  MacCAULEY.  I97 

one  bettered  himself  in  trying  to  get  out  of  it.  Water 
covered  everything.  However,  we  cared  but  little  for 
what  happened  then.  My  brain  was  giving  way  to  a 
sort  of  a  torpor.  I  now  can  remember  only  that  with 
a  kind  of  instinct  at  self-preservation  I  groped  about  in 
the  blackness  of  darkness,  and  found  a  small  hummock; 
on  that  I  laid  my  canteen,  my  elbow  on  the  canteen, 
my  head  on  my  elbow,  and  that  there,  with  hundreds 
of  comrades,  just  twenty-three  years  ago  to-night  I  lay 
down  in  water  to  pass  the  doleful  hours. 

I  wish  I  had  memory  clear  enough  or  pen  powerful 
enough  to  describe  the  appearance  of  the  Union  prison- 
ers' camp  at  Guiney's  Station  that  next  morning.  How 
those  rebel  officers  ever  alloAved  it  to  become  a  possi- 
bility, even  under  the  stress  of  the  events  following  the 
battle,  which  had  been  as  severe  to  them  as  it  had  been 
to  their  enemy,  I  have  never  been  able  to  explain.  To 
their  everlasting  shame  they  did  permit  it.  Having 
practically  had  no  food  for  days,  with  no  shelter  in 
prospect,  without  even  fires  to  protect  us,  lying  in  water 
inches  deep,  and  exposed  to  a  terrible  northeast  storm, 
we  saw  Thursday  morning  come.  Possibly  the  officers 
in  command  could  have  bettered  our  condition  but 
little,  if  any.  Possibly  with  prospect  of  removal  to 
Kichmond  at  any  time  they  saw  no  necessity  for 
making  a  change  of  our  camp.  Possibly,  probably, 
they  did  not  care.  Yet  our  guard  seemed  almost  as 
forlorn  and  famished  as  we  were.  How  that  Thursday 
went  I  do  not  remember.  There  was  no  pause  in  the 
storm,  I  know.  Only  as  evening  approached  came  re 
newal  of  hope.  We  were  again  ordered  over  to  the 
railroad.     That   walk   was    but   a   cheerless   struggle 


198         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

through  deep,  soft  mud.     I  fell  from  exhaustion  two  or 
three  times  on  the  way.    At  the  station  some  sank  down 
at  the  halt.     They  swore  they  would  not  move  again. 
This  time,  however,  we  had  not  been   brought  to  the 
railroad  on  a  fool's   errand.     At  about  nine  o'clock, 
with  seventy-three  other  officers  of  our  army,  I  took  a 
train  for  a  trip  to  Richmond.     I  do  not  remember  just 
how  many  of  us  were  in  the  one  car,  but  the  car,  I  shall 
always  recollect,  was  a  rickety  freight-box,  seatless  and 
windowless.     Its  roof  gave  no  real  protection  from  the 
beating  rain.     The  floor  was  covered  with  near  an  inch 
of  filth,  mud  and  corn  mixed.    To  say  we  were  crowded 
is  not  to  tell  the  truth.     We  could  not  all  have  sat  down 
at  once  had  we  tried.    We  disposed  of  ourselves  in  many 
sorts  of  postures  as  best  we  could.     Some  of  us  would 
then  have  given  up  wholly,  had  we  not  been  supported 
by  the  confidence  that  before  morning  we  should  have 
release,  and  should  reach  shelter  and  food  in  Richmond. 
In  truth,  companions,  hardly  as  much  consideration  was 
shown  us  there  as  we  see  every  day  given  here  to  car- 
loads of  cattle.     Well,  within   an   hour  after  we  had 
been  jammed  into  that  freight-car  the  train  started  and 
we  nerved  ourselves  for  the  night.     But  a  tired  horse 
could  have  gone  as  fast  as  we  went.     Of  course  much 
must  be  considered  as  accounting  for  this.     The  track 
was  single.    I  suppose  many  obstacles  were  in  the  way. 
We  were  stopped  often,  and,  to  our  great  discomfort, 
jerked  backwards  and  forwards  in  that  loosely-coupled 
car.     Yet  we  felt  that  the  agony  could  not  last  much 
longer ;  at  least  so  felt  those  of  us  who  were  not  too 
benumbed  to  feel.     So  slow  was  our  progress,  however, 
that  towards  midnight  we  had  not  gone  farther  on  our 


ADDRESS  BY  REV.   CLAY  MacCAULEY.  199 

way  than  six  miles.  At  that  point  we  came  to  a  long 
stop.  Again  we  began  to  move.  I  did  not  know  what 
was  being  done.  Doubled  up  in  as  small  a  space  as  I 
could  take  at  a  side  of  the  car,  I  knew  only  that  we 
were  moved  and  stopped.  Finally  came  another  stop. 
A  long  silence.  Dawn  came  slowly  through  the  con- 
tinuing storm.     Soon  I  heard  some  one  say,  " it, 

boys,  we  are  still  at  Guiney's !"  Of  a  truth  we  were. 
We  were  side-tracked  just  at  the  place  we  had  started 
from  at  ten  o'clock  the  night  before.  There  is  no  use  in 
my  trying  to  give  you  here  any  notion  of  how  we  felt. 
I  can  state  merely  the  fact. 

Well,  Friday  morning  had  come.  As  all  things  else, 
that,  too,  at  length  passed.  Not  a  mouthful  of  food 
was  given  us.  Some  of  the  men  were  allowed  to  get 
out  of  the  car.  They  lay  beside  it  in  the  mud  for 
hours.  The  others  of  us  stretched  our  benumbed 
bodies  out  where  we  were.  Gradually  the  rain  ceased 
and  the  skies  brightened.  About  noon  a  second  time 
we  were  packed  into  our  box.  What  proved  to  be  the 
real  start  for  Richmond  was  then  made.  Of  course  I 
cannot  tell  what  justification  the  rebel  authorities  might 
plead  for  this  brutal  manner  in  transporting  us  south- 
ward. I  know  that  everything  inside  General  Lee's 
lines  was  badly  demoralized  by  the  battle  of  Chancel- 
lorsville.  Probably,  too,  the  rebels  had  hardly  enough 
food  at  command  then  to  supply  their  own  troops.  All 
their  means  of  railway  carriage  at  Guiney's  were  in  bad 
shape.  But  we  felt  by  far  the  worst  effects  of  their 
troubles.  Moreover,  I  often  think  that  the  authorities 
at  Guiney's  were  willing  to  see  us  as  badly  crippled, 
even  by  our  misfortunes  as  captives  in  their  hands,  as 


200         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

by  the  damage  they  might  inflict  uj^on  us  in  a  fair 
fight.  About  five  o'clock  that  Friday  evening,  May  8, 
18G3,  threescore  and  more  of  thoroughly  used-up 
Union  oflScers  were  actually  tumbled  out  of  a  freight 
car  into  one  of  the  streets  of  the  Confederate  ca^iital. 
The  once  dreaded  city  had  by  force  of  events  become  to 
them  in  imagination  a  welcome  place  of  refuge.  Fam- 
ished, filthy,  and  many  of  us  ragged,  we  slowly  moved 
down  a  main  street,  followed  by  many  men  and  women 
and  a  crowd  of  jeering,  hooting  boys. 

How  is  it  within  human  possibility  for  those  who 
endured  those  six  days  ever  to  forget  or  ever  to  for- 
give the  men  whose  acts  had  brought  about  the  suffering 
and  humiliation?  Our  experience  at  Guiney's  and  the 
manner  in  which  we  had  been  transported  to  Richmond 
had  been  as  cruel  as  cruel  could  be,  under  this  nineteenth 
century  civilization,  were  there  any  possibility  of  pre- 
venting it.  I  noticed  but  little  in  our  walk.  Only  two 
things  impressed  themselves  distinctly  upon  my  mem- 
ory, excepting  the  taunting  of  the  crowd.  We  passed 
the  Capitol  building.  There  stood  the  handsome  eques- 
trian statue  of  Washington  in  the  Capitol  grounds,  the 
great  commander  a  lifeless  and  consequently  impassive 
spectator  of  the  degradation  of  children  of  men  who 
had  fought  and  died  under  his  leadership,  that  this 
country  might  become  the  home  of  a  free  and  inde- 
pendent nation.  And  there  too,  stood,  on  the  Capitol 
steps,  the  arch-traitor  to  the  Union,  the  rebel  Presi- 
dent,— not  a  statue  but  a  living  man,  he  also  an  impas- 
sive spectator  of  our  degradation,  the  degradation  of 
many  fellow- Americans,  whose  only  crime  had  been 
that   they  had   done   what   they* could   to  save   from 


ADDRESS  BY  REV.  CLAY  MacCAULEY.  201 

traitors'  hands  the  Union  which  Washington  and  our 
patriot  fathers  had  bequeathed  to  posterity  as  a  sacred 
trust  for  the  service  of  mankind.  Who  of  us,  in  his 
wiklest  imagining,  could  have  thought  that  within  but 
twenty-three  years  from  that  day  the  man  who  then 
so  coklly  looked  at  that  miserable  crowd  of  captive 
Union  officers,  on  their  way  to  prison,  could  start  on  a 
tour  through  any  part  of  this  land  to  vent,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  "  Stars  and  Stripes,"  his  cherished  treason, 
and  to  receive  for  it,  unforbidden,  the  applauding  cheers 
of  thousands  ?  Can  human  history  anywhere  repro- 
duce a  spectacle  like  it  ?  I  have  no  feeling  of  revenge 
in  saying  this.  But  there  is  an  instinct  in  man  for 
what  we  call  justice,  and  to  Jefferson  Davis  I  believe 
justice  has  not  been  done. 

Our  little  band  kept  on  its  way  followed  by  the  hoot- 
ing crowd.  Then  came  the  last  moment  in  the  tale  of 
the  war  I  have  been  trying  to  tell  to  you,  companions 
in  the  great  struggle.  We  were  halted  in  front  of  a 
large  three-storied  brick  building.  Looking  up,  we  saw 
a  great  white  sign  extended  across  the  sidewalk,  from 
the  west  wall  to  a  column.  On  it  were  painted  these 
memorable  words,  "  Libby  &  Son,  Ship  Chandlers  and 
Grocers."  By  "  file  right"  we  then  passed  by  that  and 
entered  a  broad,  low-ceiled  hall-way.  We  halted.  Our 
journey  was  ended.  We  had  come  from  "  Chancellors- 
ville  to  Libby  Prison." 


FROM  ATLANTA  TO  RALEIGH. 

BY  COLONEL   OHAELES   D.  KERE, 

SIXTEENTH    ILLINOIS   CAVALRY,  U.  S.  VOLUNTEERS. 


The  estimate  here  given  of  certain  leading  charac- 
ters in  the  Atlanta  campaign  is  purely  matter  of  private 
opinion,  expressed  in  postulate  form  for  brevity's  sake. 
I  am  aware  that  the  estimate  in  some  cases  is  not  the 
popular  one ;  it  is  simply  the  result  of  such  means  and 
opportunities  for  judging  as  I  have  possessed. 

There  were  few  more  competent  or  successful  divis- 
ion commanders  in  the  Confederate  army  than  J.  B. 
Hood.  Naturally  quick,  with  keen  perceptive  facul- 
ties, and  brave  even  to  rashness ;  taught  by  such  a  mas- 
ter as  Jackson,  and  in  such  a  school  as  the  Virginia 
campaign,  he  became,  perhaps,  the  most  brilliant  and 
accomplished  tactician  in  the  corps  of  that  great  leader. 
Beyond  this  he  never  advanced,  but  remained  a  tac- 
tician merely  to  the  end  of  his  career.  It  was  unfor- 
tunate both  for  the  Army  of  North  Virginia  and  the 
Army  of  Mississippi  when  he  was  raised  from  his  legiti- 
mate position  of  division  commander  to  the  head  of  an 
independent  army. 

General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  was,  I  think,  the  ablest 
strategist  in  the  Southern  army  south  of  Virginia,  if 
not,  indeed,  in  that  army  without  geographical  distinc- 
tion.    Wary,  far-seeing,  prudent  to  a  degree,  and  cau- 

202 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL   CHARLES  D.  KERR.      203 

tious  almost  to  the  verge  of  timidity,  he  was  peculiarly 
adapted  to  defensive  warftire.  An  army  in  almost  any 
predicament  was  safe  in  his  hands  from  overwhelming 
disaster. 

The  retreat  of  Johnston  from  Dalton  to  Atlanta  was 
a  series  of  strategic  moves,  always  to  the  rear,  but  with- 
out the  loss  of  a  gun  or  a  wagon,  or,  as  it  seemed  to  us, 
even  a  cartridge-box.  The  consummate  skill  of  these 
movements  challenged  the  admiration  of  his  foes,  and 
at  the  same  time  excited  their  gratitude  for  escape  from 
telling  blows,  which  certainly,  in  more  than  one  in- 
stance, seemed  to  have  been  overlooked  by  Johnston  in 
the  supreme  effort  to  safely  withdraw  his  army. 

I  shall  always  believe  that  it  was  a  fortunate  thing 
for  the  army  of  General  Sherman  that  the  strategy 
of  Johnston  and  the  tactical  efficiency  of  Hood  were 
not  united  in  one  commander  at  Cassville  and  New 
Hope  Church. 

Hood  was  lamentably  wanting  in  strategy.  Johns- 
ton was  just  as  deficient  in  that  prompt  and  vigorous 
aggressiveness  which  dares  to  put  its  fortune  to  the 
touch  to  win  or  lose  it  all. 

Johnston  was  always  a  devotee  of  the  breastwork. 
Hood  despised  and  eschewed  it  altogether.  Johnston 
affirmed  that  it  prevented  the  useless  sacrifice  of  life 
and  supplemented  deficiency  in  numbers.  Hood  con- 
tended that  it  impaired  the  morale  of  the  men,  and  in- 
sidiously instilled  into  them  the  idea  that  they  could 
hold  their  ground  only  by  the  aid  of  such  material 
assistance. 

There  will  always  be  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the 
proper  use  of  intrenchments.    They  are  legitimate,  cer- 


204         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

taiiily,  when  the  object  is  simply  to  hold  the  opposing 
force  in  check.  They  are  oftentimes  invaluable  where 
the  purpose  is  to  hold  a  part  of  the  line  with  a  small 
force  while  the  enemy  is  assailed  by  the  rest  of  the 
army.  But  I  am  satisfied  that  the  constant  and  sys- 
tematic use  of  intrenchments  is  not  the  school  from 
which  the  highest  type  of  the  soldier  graduates. 

In  the  situation  of  Johnston's  army  the  preparing  of 
strongly  fortified  works  in  the  rear  in  advance  of  each 
retrograde  movement  was  almost  equivalent  to  a  pre- 
determination to  fall  back  to  them,  which  was  invari- 
ably done  until  the  army  reached  Atlanta  and  Johnston 
was  superseded  by  Hood. 

So  critical  a  situation  would  have  paralyzed  a  greater 
mind  than  Hood's.  The  night  of  August  25,  1864, 
was  a  dark  and  sultry  one.  My  regiment  was  occupy- 
ing a  portion  of  the  first  line,  close  to  the  works  of  the 
enemy  on  the  southwestern  side  of  Atlanta.  Shortly 
after  dark  we  quietly  packed  the  few  dog-tents  and 
equipments  allowed  to  the  soldiers  at  that  stage  of  the 
war,  and,  leaving  a  vigorous  skirmish-line  to  keep  up 
appearances,  silently  stole  away  with  a  portion  of  the 
army  on  a  swift  march  to  Jonesboro',  while  the  rest  of 
the  troops  retired  behind  the  Chattahoochie,  as  though 
in  abandonment  of  the  siege. 

Hood  was  completely  deceived.  Jonesboro'  was  cap- 
tured at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  Atlanta  fell  from 
force  of  circumstances  which  Hood  failed  to  control.  I 
consider  this  the  most  brilliant  strategic  move  of  the 
campaign.  It  took  brains  to  conceive  it  and  nerve  to 
carry  it  out. 

In  all  probability,  if  Johnston  had  remained  in  com- 


ADDRESS   BY  COLONEL   CHARLES  D.  KERR.      205 

mand  at  Atlanta  this  move  would  not  have  succeeded, 
possibly  would  not  have  been  made,  but  Atlanta  would 
have  fallen  just  the  same,  and  probably  just  as  quickly 
and  with  as  little  loss  of  life. 

The  movement  around  to  Jonesboro'  was  simply 
adapting  means  to  changed  conditions,  which  is  also  a 
test  of  fitness  to  lead. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  campaign  of  1864  the 
objective  of  Sherman  was  not  necessarily  Atlanta,  but 
rather  tlie  army  of  Johnston  in  the  field.  Had  that 
general  seen  fit  to  fall  back  by  way  of  Rome  to  Central 
Alabama  or  Mississippi  doubtless  Sherman  would  have 
followed,  and  Atlanta  would  have  remained,  for  the 
time  at  least,  and  perhaps  altogether,  like  Augusta,  the 
object  of  feints  rather  than  direct  investment.  The 
capture  of  the  city,  with  its  manufactories  and  muni- 
tions of  war,  doubtless  empliasized  the  sentiment  which 
had  been  growing  in  the  Northern  army,  that  the  de- 
struction of  the  means  of  supply  would  as  effectu- 
ally end  the  Rebellion  as  the  destruction  of  the  rebel 
armies.  In  this  view  alone  did  the  capture  of  Atlanta 
justify  its  cost.  Its  destruction  was  an  immense  injury 
to  the  South.  Its  occupation  by  the  North,  for  strategic 
or  other  purposes,  was  entirely  impracticable. 

The  inexorable  logic  of  the  situation  justified  measures 
which  otherwise  might  have  seemed  harsh.  It  would 
have  been  incongruous  and  absurd  for  Sherman  to  have 
used  his  single  line  of  road,  already  taxed  to  its  utmost 
to  feed  his  own  army,  in  bringing  supplies  four  hun- 
dred miles,  to  feed  the  wives  and  children  of  the  men 
who  were  fighting  him  and  his  country. 

There  was  no  difference  of  023inion  as  to  what  should 


206         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

be  done  with  Atlanta ;  what  to  do  with  the  army  was 
the  problem  to  be  solved.  Hood  had  left  our  front  and 
was  menacing  our  communications.  These  must  be 
preserved  at  all  hazards,  for  the  present  at  least,  and 
the  work  of  their  preservation  is  matter  of  history. 
The  turning-point  came  when  Hood  abandoned  the 
attempt  to  cut  off  our  supplies,  and  struck  out  for  new 
fields  of  conquest  with  his  base  of  supplies  at  Decatur. 

Nowhere  in  his  history  do  the  qualities  of  Sherman, 
as  a  military  leader,  shine  so  brightly  as  at  this  crisis. 
The  soldier,  like  the  poet,  is  born  not  made.  Genius  is 
always  self-reliant,  and,  as  Schiller  says  of  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  self-reliance  in  such  a  man  is  the  parent  of 
success.  Military  science,  caution,  and  the  advice  of 
superiors  as  well  as  subordinates,  still  pointed  to  the 
army  of  Hood  as  the  true  objective-point.  General 
Grant  says,  "On  the  1st  of  November  I  suggested 
to  Sherman  the  propriety  of  destroying  Hood  before 
he  started  on  his  campaign."  Thomas  wrote  from 
Nashville,  "I  hope  you  will  adopt  Grant's  idea  of 
turning  Wilson  loose,  rather  than  undertake  the  plan 
of  a  march  with  the  whole  force  through  Georgia  to 
the  sea."  But  Sherman  knowing  Hood  as  he  did,  and 
knowing  Thomas  also  as  he  did,  with  that  intuitive 
forecast  which  is  born  of  genius,  was  quite  content  to 
let  Hood  invite  his  own  destruction  at  the  hands  of  the 
hero  of  Chickamauga,  while  the  main  army  sought  a 
new  base  for  both  supplies  and  operations. 

The  policy  of  all  great  minds  is  to  a  certain  extent  con- 
trolled by  events,  but  it  would  be  unjust  to  Sherman  and 
to  history  to  say  that  his  great  campaign  of  1864-65 
was  the  result  of  any  fortuitous  circumstances ;  it  was 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL    CHARLES  D.  KERR.      207 

rather  the  product  of  his  superior  mind  which  con- 
trolled circumstances.  The  correspondence  of  Sherman 
and  Grant  upon  the  subject  of  this  campaign  is  itself 
a  higher  tribute  of  praise  than  the  words  of  another 
could  convey.  Great,  simple-minded  soldiers,  both  of 
them;  they  may  have  been  rivals  in  a  certain  sense, 
yet  neither  was  jealous  of  the  other's  fame,  or  hesitated 
to  share  the  laurels  of  a  campaign  for  fear  that  the 
splendor  of  his  rival's  achievements  might  dim  the 
lustre  of  his  own.  Sherman's  plan  being  approved, 
there  was  no  hesitancy  and  no  backward  step.  Light 
rations  and  ammunition  were  hurried  to  the  front,  and 
the  trains  returning  were  loaded  to  their  capacity  with 
surplus  guns  and  impedimenta,  and  with  the  sick  and 
all  unfit  for  duty. 

It  was  not  Sherman's  intention  that  any  post  on  the 
railroad  south  of  Chattanooga  should  be  held  by  either 
the  Union  or  Confederate  forces.  On  the  12th  of  No- 
vember, then,  at  the  little  village  of  Cartersville,  the 
last  train  of  cars  sped  on  its  way  to  the  North,  carrying 
letters  innumerable  to  our  friends  at  home.  The  last 
messages  by  wire  were  sent  and  received,  and  the  work 
■of  destruction  began.  We  were  not  as  expert  then  in 
the  unbuilding  of  railroads  as  we  afterwards  became. 
It  was  up  to  this  point,  for  the  most  part,  that  we  fes- 
tooned the  trees  and  telegraph-poles  with  the  heated 
rails.  At  Atlanta  some  genius  in  the  blacksmith  de- 
partment invented  a  wrench,  with  long  iron  handles, 
that  fitted  on  to  the  end  of  the  rail,  and  after  that,  with 
one  of  these  at  either  end,  we  were  accustomed  to  twist 
the  rails  into  corkscrews  at  the  centre  in  much  less 
time  than  it  took  to  carry  them  to  a  tree. 


208         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

The  soldier  is  ever  mercurial ;  nothing  delights  him 
so  much  as  change  spiced  with  adventure.  Here  was 
a  move  such  as  we  had  never  experienced  or  expected, 
and  the  spirits  of  the  command  ran  correspondingly 
high.  We  knew  that  we  had  burned  our  ships  and 
abandoned  our  supplies,  and  were  henceforth  to  take 
care  of  ourselves.  It  was  well  understood  that  our 
principal  mission  was  to  cripple  the  resources  of  the 
Confederacy,  but  just  whither  we  were  going,  or  how  or 
when  we  would  get  there,  none  knew,  not  even  the  great 
leader  of  the  army  himself. 

There  was  of  course  much  discussion,  as  there  always 
is  among  intelligent  soldiers,  but  upon  two  points  there 
was  never  a  question  or  a  lingering  doubt :  they  were, 
first,  the  ability  of  the  army  to  do  anything  it  under- 
took ;  and,  second,  its  absolute  unwavering  confidence  in 
Sherman. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  scene  as  we  marched  out 
from  Atlanta.  The  air  was  resonant  with  explosions, 
while  flames  were  mounting  to  the  sky  from  burning 
depots  and  factories  all  over  the  city.  Meanwhile 
the  men  were  cheering  and  singing  patriotic  songs, 
and  fairly  revelling  in  the  excitement  and  novelty 
of  the  situation.  All  believed  we  would  meet  resist- 
ance; that  supplies  would  be  destroyed,  and  bridges 
burned,  and  roads  obstructed,  but  all,  at  the  same  time, 
were  rejoicing  as  though  they  knew  we  were  starting 
upon  the  holiday  excursion  that  the  march  to  Savannah 
turned  out  to  be.  In  point  of  fact,  the  brilliancy  of  the 
move  lay  alone  in  its  conception.  Its  execution  was 
simple  and  easy  as  a  pleasure  trip.  I  do  not  think 
there  was  a  general  officer  in  the  West,  besides  Sherman, 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL   CHARLES  D.  KERR.      209 

who  would  have  undertaken  it.  I  do  not  believe  there 
was  a  division  commander  in  his  army  who  could  not 
have  executed  it. 

From  the  time  of  breaking  communication  at  Carters- 
ville  until  we  reached  Goldsboro',  in  March,  1865, 1  kept 
a  diary,  written  up  every  day  at  the  noon  hour  and  at 
the  camp-fire ;  from  this  I  have  drawn  largely  in  my 
story  of  the  march.  From  Atlanta  to  Savannah,  and 
from  thence  to  Raleigh,  my  post  of  duty  was  with  the 
left  wing,  consisting  of  the  Fourteenth  and  Twentieth 
Army  Corps,  and  to  the  march  of  this  wing  my  story 
will  be  principally  confined. 

The  invading  army  consisted  of  about  six^y-t^vo 
thousand  infantry,  five  thousand  cavalry  under  Kil- 
patrick,  sixty  guns,  and  two  thousand  five  hundred 
wagons,  with  six  mules  to  each  wagon  and  eight  horses 
to  each  gun  and  caisson.  The  troops  were  commanded 
by  excellent  officers,  trained  by  the  experience  of  many 
campaigns,  and  proud  of  a  long  series  of  victories.  The 
amount  of  food  and  forage  required  each  day  to  support 
this  host  of  men  and  animals  is  beyond  ready  compu- 
tation. The  question  of  supplies  was  the  unknown 
quantity  in  the  problem  of  the  march.  It  was  known 
that  the  militia  of  Joe  Brown  had  been  disbanded  for 
the  purpose  of  gathering  the  season's  crop  for  the  sus- 
tenance of  non-combatants  and  the  support  of  the 
Southern  army.  It  was  also  known  that  the  most 
strenuous  and  frantic  appeals  had  been  made  by  the 
Southern  leaders  to  the  people  to  destroy  these  supplies 
in  advance  of  Sherman's  army.  No  one  knew  the  full 
extent  of  the  harvest,  and  it  was  still  more  doubtful 
how  far  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  would  lead  the  people 

14 


210         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

of  Georgia  in  the  destruction  of  their  stores.  That 
there  would  be  hunger  and  hardship  somewhere  on  the 
route  no  one  was  sanguine  enous-h  to  doubt. 

The  unexpected,  as  usual,  occurred.  From  the  day 
we  left  Atlanta  to  the  day  we  reached  Savannah,  a 
period  of  four  full  weeks,  there  was  an  unceasing  abun- 
dance of  all  that  could  be  desired  of  food,  and  forage 
was  a  drug  in  the  market.  In  point  of  ftict,  the  most 
of  the  inhabitants  along  the  route  were  heartily  tired 
of  the  war ;  they  had  sacrificed  all  they  cared  to  offer 
upon  the  altar  of  Southern  independence.  There  is 
rarely  great  self-sacrifice  without  the  stimulus  of  enthu- 
siasni  and  hope. 

The  method  of  securing  supplies  was  reduced  to  a 
system  which  served  a  double  purpose.  About  twenty 
men  from  each  regiment  were  detailed  daily.  They 
started  out  generally  before  daybreak  in  the  morning, 
and  scoured  the  country  for  miles  in  advance  and  on 
either  flank.  They  were  the  skirmishers  as  well  as  the 
providers  of  the  army,  and  no  army  ever  had  a  more 
daring  and  efficient  skirmish-line.  There  was  no  force 
to  opj)ose  them  but  Wheeler's  cavalry  and  a  small  com- 
mand of  Georgia  home-guards,  who  were  invariably 
brushed  aside  by  these  reckless  foragers  without  dis- 
turbing the  line  of  march  of  the  principal  column. 

It  has  been  said  by  some  writers  that  the  system  of 
issuing  rations  through  the  brigade  commissary  was 
preserved  in  its  integrity  throughout  this  march.  I 
failed  to  observe  anything  of  the  kind.  Practically,  so 
far  as  supplies  were  concerned,  each  regiment  was  a  law 
unto  itself.  One  wagon  followed  each  regiment,  and 
about  an  hour  or  two  before  reaching  camp  we  could 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL    CHARLES  D.  KERR.      2ll 

count  with  almost  absolute  certainty  upon  meeting  our 
detail  near  the  roadside,  ready  to  load  on  to  this  wagon 
all  it  would  carry  of  the  legitimate  suj^plies  gathered  for 
the  regiment.     As  for  the  illegitimate  plunder,  perhaps 
the  less  said  the  better.     I  have  read  in  the  published 
stories  of  this  march  that  while  all  that  could  sustain  a 
h(3stile  army,  both  animate  and  inanimate,  was  freely 
taken,  there  was  but  little  lawless  appropriation  of  other 
property.     I  would  simply  reflect  upon  your  intelli- 
o-ence  if  I  made  such  a  claim  before  this  audience. 
Every  officer  who  has  commanded   men  in   the  field 
knows  how  difficult  it  is,  even  under  the  most  rigid 
discipline,  to  check   the  inclination  of  the  soldiers  to 
plunder.     Here  were  thousands  of  men  sent  forth  each 
morning  with  absolutely  no  restraint  but  their  own  will, 
with  no  chance  of  discovery  and  no  fear  of  punishment. 
If  the  men  who  have  told  the  story  of  this  march  with 
so  much  ability  really  believe  that  under  such  circum- 
stances the  foragers  took  nothing  but  food,  it  would 
have  been  amusing  to  have  opened  to  their  inspection 
the  knapsacks  of  Sherman's    army   when   it   reached 
Savannah.     I  have  seen  a  hundred  men,  in  full  view 
of  half  as  many  general  and  line  officers,  prodding  the 
ground  around  some  deserted  mansion  with  bayonets, 
and   swords,  and   ramrods,  and   spades,  in  search  for 
hidden  treasure,  until  some  darky  would  be  brought, 
who,  emancipated  from  the  fear  of  his  mistress,  would 
say,  "Well,  you  all's  sure  enough  Mars'  Lincoln's  men; 
if  you'll  tote  me  'long  wid  you,  so  I'll  never  come  back 
here  no  mo',  sure,  I'll  show  you  whar  dey's  hide  it 
away."     The  skill  acquired  by  the  men  in  unearthing 
hidden  treasures  was  matter  of  comment  and  marvel  to 


212         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

the  entire  army.  It  never  occurred  to  me  till  I  saw  it 
in  print  that  it  was  food  and  forage  they  were  search- 
ing for. 

The  ludicrous  features  of  this  branch  of  the  service 
were  comical  beyond  expression.  Many  a  weary  mile 
was  shortened  by  the  thought  of  the  fun  we  would  have 
when  the  foragers  came  in.  A  familiar  scene  lingers  in 
memory  yet, — an  opening  by  the  roadside,  a  score  of 
men  dressed  beyond  the  possibility  of  recognition,  with 
head-gear  from  the  skull-cap  to  the  bell-crowned  stove- 
pipe, with  white  pants,  swallow-tail  coats,  and  satin 
vests,  all  mounted,  one  on  a  blooded  stallion,  one  on  an 
unbroken  filly,  and  the  rest  on  mules  and  horses  of 
every  color  and  condition ;  in  the  midst  of  the  troop  an 
old-fashioned  family  carriage,  with  a  gorgeously-attired 
darky  mounted  on  the  step  behind  as  footman,  the 
vehicle  loaded  to  the  guards  with  butter  and  eggs,  and 
sweet-potatoes,  and  honey,  and  flour  and  meal,  and 
vegetables  of  every  grade,  from  the  pumpkin  to  the 
gruber-pea,  and  drawn  by  a  jackass  about  the  size  of  a 
sheep,  and  a  horse  as  big  as  a  small  elephant  on  the 
pole,  and  mayhap  a  cow  in  the  lead,  or  a  rawboned 
plantation  mule  flapping  his  patient  ears  as  he  munched 
his  stripped  corn  fodder. 

Speaking  of  the  gruber-pea,  or  as  we  call  it  the 
peanut,  it  seemed  to  me  to  be  one  of  the  principal 
products  of  the  soil  in  Georgia.  It  was  used  to  feed 
the  hogs,  and  I  have  seen  cribs  of  it  containing  hun- 
dreds of  bushels,  suggestive  of  the  corn-cribs  we  left 
behind  in  Illinois.  And  sweet-potatoes!  their  memory 
lingers  yet.  The  larger  varieties  were  called  yams ; 
we  had  read  of  these  so  large  that  you  might  sit  on  one 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL   CHARLES  D.  KERR.      213 

end  while  the  other  roasted  in  the  fire.  I  can  testify  to 
having  verified  the  story,  for  a  brief  moment,  with  a 
monster  specimen  about  three  feet  long. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  follow  the  route  of  the  left 
wing,  with  all  the  towns  and  villages  passed  through, 
as  indicated  in  my  diary,  but  I  cannot  forbear  to  men- 
tion the  city  of  Milledgeville,  the  beautiful  capital  of 
Georgia.  One  feature  of  the  place  was  unique,  and  it 
seemed  to  me  not  inappropriate.  The  churches  of  the 
city  were  all  collected  in  one  inclosure,  as  large  per- 
haps as  two  or  three  of  the  blocks  of  St.  Paul  proper. 
This  inclosure  was  tastefully  laid  out  with  trees  and 
shrubbery  and  walks :  a  beautiful  park,  consecrated  to 
the  worship  of  the  God  of  nature  as  well  as  of  revela- 
tion. 

The  Legislature  of  Georgia  had  hurriedly  escaped 
from  one  end  of  the  city  as  we  marched  in  at  the  other. 
We  thought  it  meet  to  su^Dplement  their  labors,  evi- 
dences of  which  were  scattered  all  over  the  State-house. 
For  the  first  and  only  time  in  my  life  I  sat  in  the  halls 
of  legislation  as  a  member.  After  a  heated  and  some- 
what acrimonious  debate  we  passed  an  act,  entitled  "  An 
act  to  repeal  an  ordinance  entitled  'An  ordinance  to  dis- 
solve the  union  between  the  State  of  Georgia  and  other 
States  united  with  her  in  the  compact  of  government 
entitled  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.' "  After 
the  same  had  been  duly  approved  by  our  provisional 
governor  and  published  to  the  patriotic  citizens  of  the 
community,  we  adjourned  sine  die,  and  took  uj)  our 
line  of  march  for  Savannah. 

When  we  reached  the  vicinity  of  Andersonville, 
through  which,  however,  we  did  not  pass,  a  number  of 


214         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

escaped  Union  prisoners  were  brought  in  by  our  for- 
agers. Emaciated  by  starvation ;  their  fleshless  bones 
in  some  cases  protruding  through  their  skin,  and  with 
eyes  which  in  their  gaunt  and  liungry  glare  suggested 
some  wild  animal,  the  sight  of  them  might  have  moved 
the  very  stones  to  pity.  Yet  in  such  a  land,  where  the 
church-bells  still  invited  to  the  worship  of  the  Saviour 
of  the  poor :  in  a  land  so  overflowing  with  abundance 
that  it  would  have  supported  an  army  of  twice  sixty 
thousand  men  for  months,  these  prisoners  of  war,  taken 
in  honorable  combat,  were  brought  by  lack  of  food  to 
such  a  plight  as  this.  I  am  not  inclined  to  be  impla- 
cable, for  the  most  part  I  have  forgiven,  if  I  have  not 
forgotten,  but  this  thing  I  never  can  and  I  never  will 
either  forget  or  forgive. 

I  cannot  agree  with  the  historians  of  this  campaign 
upon  the  negro  question.  It  has  been  stated  that  or- 
ders were  given  prohibiting  any  camp-following  by 
this  race.  If  such  were  the  case  it  did  not  come  to  my 
knowledge.  The  assistance  and  information  which  they 
always  freely  gave  filled  them  with  dread,  not  so  much 
of  their  master's  household  as  of  the  marauding  bands 
of  Wheeler's  cavalry,  that  followed  our  column  like  an 
avenging  Nemesis,  scourging  and  killing  all  negroes 
who  were  suspected  of  giving  comfort  to  the  enemy. 
The  terror  in  which  these  horsemen  were  held  by  the 
colored  people  was  simply  beyond  expression,  and  their 
pleadings  for  the  protection  which  they  believed  they 
could  find  nowhere  but  under  the  wings  of  our  army 
was  irresistible.  Sherman  was  to  them  a  veritable 
Moses.  His  strength  covered  their  weakness,  and  with 
a  faith  that  never  faltered,  and  a  devotion  and  loyalty 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL   CHARLES  D.  KERR.      215 

that  nothing  could  shake,  they  followed  the  army  in 
multitudes,  without  regard  to  age  or  sex.  This  was 
not  only  permitted,  but  to  my  knowledge  it  was  encour- 
aged ;  they  were  led  to  believe  that  the  government 
would  make  some  provision  for  their  self-sujDport  when 
we  reached  the  sea-coast,  as  indeed  it  did  immediately 
upon  our  entry  into  Savannah. 

Under  date  of  Thursday,  December  8,  I  find  the 
following  in  my  diary :  "  Eleven  o'clock :  road  ob- 
structed ahead.  Bridge  burned  over  Ebenezer  Creek. 
Ebenezer  a  dilapidated  little  town  one  hundred  and 
thirty-one  years  old.  Antiquated,  tumble-down  church, 
same  age  as  town.  Laid  pontoons.  Shelled  by  rebel 
gunboat  in  river  quarter  of  mile  distant :  no  one  hurt. 
Camped  at  six  o'clock  S.  S.  AY.  seven  miles.  Eighteen 
miles  from  city  heard  heavy  cannonading  all  day  on 
right  and  in  direction  of  city :  rear  of  Baird  attacked 
by  Wheeler.  Marched  back  six  miles,  and  camped  for 
the  night  at  ten  o'clock  p.m.  Plenty  to  eat.  No  pro- 
visions destroyed  by  the  rebels  yet.''  The  "yet"  covered 
the  entire  distance  from  Atlanta. 

Ebenezer  Creek,  where  we  crossed  next  day,  was  a 
swollen  stream  about  ten  rods  wide  and  eight  or  ten 
feet  deep.  Wheeler's  cavalry  was  closely  pressing  our 
rear.  On  the  pretence  that  there  was  likely  to  be 
fighting  in  front,  the  negroes  were  told  not  to  go  upon 
the  pontoon-bridge  until  all  the  troops  and  wagons  were 
over :  a  guard  was  detailed  to  enforce  the  order ;  but, 
patient  and  docile  as  the  negroes  always  were,  the 
guard  was  really  unnecessary.  My  regiment  was  in 
the  rear  of  everything  in  the  Fourteenth  Corps  that  day. 
As  soon  as  we  were  over  the  creek,  orders  were  given 


216         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

to  the  engineers  to  take  up  the  pontoons,  and  not  let  a 
negro  cross.  The  order  was  obeyed  to  the  letter.  I 
sat  upon  my  horse  then  and  witnessed  a  scene  the  like 
of  which  I  pray  my  eyes  may  never  see  again. 

Already  the  shots  from  Wheeler's  carbines  were  be- 
ginning to  tell  upon  the  dense  mass  upon  the  farther 
shore.     Rushing  to  the  water's  brink,  they  raised  their 
hands  and  implored   from  the  corps  commander  the 
protection   they    had    been    promised.      Sherman   was 
many  miles  away,  the  prayer  was  in  vain,  and  with 
cries  of  anguish  and  despair,  men,  women,  and   chil- 
dren rushed  by  hundreds  into  the  turbid  stream,  and 
many  were  drowned  before  our  eyes.     From  what  we 
learned  afterwards  of  those  who  remained    upon   the 
land,  their  fate  at  the  hands  of  Wheeler's  troopers  was 
scarcely  to  be  preferred.     I  speak  of  what  I  saw  with 
my  own  eyes,  not  those  of  another,  and  no  writer  who 
was  not  upon  the  ground  can  gloss  the  matter  over  for 
me.     It  is  claimed  that  this  was  done  because  rations 
were  becoming  scarce ;  in  short,  that  it  was  a  military 
necessity.     There  was  no  necessity  about  it.     Not  only 
the  dictates  of  humanity,  but  the  call  of  duty  as  well, 
demanded  that  we  should  aiford  these  helpless  creatures 
the  protection  within  our  power.     There  was   not    a 
soldier  who  would  not  have  gladly  come  much  nearer 
starvation  than   was    at   all    likely   rather   than   have 
sanctioned  such  a  measure.     It  was  unjustifiable  and 
perfidious,  and  across  the  stretch  of  twenty  years  my 
soul  burns  with  indignation  to-night  as  I  recall  it.     To 
set  over  against  this  act,  I  wish  to  record  my  testimony 
here,  that  in  the  four  years  and  three  months  of  my 
service  in  the  army,  most  of  it  in  the  field,  I  never 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL    CHARLES  D.  KERR.      217 

knew  a  case,  and  I  never  heard  of  an  instance,  of  a 
negro  slave  proving  faithless  to  the  Union  cause,  or 
false  to  its  defenders. 

Savannah  was  speedily  occupied  and  communication 
established  with  the  fleet  and  home,  and  camp  was 
flooded  with  letters  from  our  loved  ones. 

Our  month's  stay  in  the  vicinity  of  Savannah  was 
simply  delightful.  The  rides  down  the  beautiful  shore 
of  Ossabaw  Sound  to  Fort  Thunderbolt ;  the  grand  old 
cemetery  of  Bonaventure,  festooned  with  the  moss  from 
its  giant  live-oaks;  the  succulent  oysters  brought  to 
each  regiment  by  wagon-loads  from  their  bed  in  the 
sound,  where  they  had  lain  undisturbed  for  years,  will 
never  be  forgotten. 

Listen  to  the  menu  from  my  diary  of  Sunday,  Janu- 
ary 1,  1865,  and  pity  the  poor  soldier:  "Dinner  for 
headquarters'  mess.  Oyster  soup,  oysters  on  the  half 
shell,  roast  goose,  fried  oysters,  roasted  oysters,  rice, 
raisins,  and  cofi'ee,  with  condensed  milk,  of  course.  A 
little  top-heavy  as  to  oysters,  but  we  don't  complain." 

We  found  in  Savannah  more  intelligence,  wider 
knowledge  of  the  world,  and  more  enlightened  views  gen- 
erally than  we  had  seen  in  any  other  city  of  the  South. 

The  pleasant  episode  of  our  sojourn  there  was  of  short 
duration.  It  was  well  understood  that  our  next  move 
would  be  against  the  army  of  Lee  in  Virginia.  It  was 
not  known  whether  it  would  be  by  sea  or  through  the 
Carolinas.  This  was  soon  determined  in  accordance 
with  Sherman's  plan,  and  the  work  of  preparation 
began.  The  army  remained  about  the  same  in  num- 
bers and  efiiciency.  Very  many,  especially  among  the 
line  officers,  were  discharged,  but  their  places  were  sup- 


218         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

plied  by  the  return  of  those  who  were  not  present  to 
start  with  us  from  Atlanta.  Logan,  the  "  Dessaix"  of 
the  army,  and  Osterhaus,  and  many  others  among  the 
best  and  bravest  officers,  rejoined  us  at  Savannah  and 
resumed  their  proper  commands. 

To  my  mind,  from  a  military  point  of  view,  the 
march  through  Georgia  was  almost  insignificant  in  com- 
parison with  the  campaign  through  the  Carolinas.  The 
former  was  simple  and  easy.  The  latter  in  difficulty 
and  hardship  will  compare  favorably  with  the  marches 
of  Hannibal  and  Gustavus  Adolphus.  The  route 
through  Georgia  was  on  parallel  lines  with  the  rivers 
and  principal  streams.  The  weather  was  delightful, 
and  there  was  scarcely  any  possibility  of  any  armed  op- 
position worthy  the  name.  The  sick-call  was  forgotten, 
and  the  medical  department  was  a  sinecure. 

Now  the  rainy  season  of  the  South  had  set  in.  The 
topography  of  the  country  to  be  traversed  was  low  and 
swampy.  We  must  cross  the  Salkahatchie,  the  Edisto, 
the  Saluda,  the  Broad,  the  Great  and  Little  Pedee,  and 
the  Cape  Fear  Rivers,  most  of  them  navigable,  and 
some  of  them  reached  by  causeways  through  impass- 
able swamps,  where  a  few  determined  men  could  almost 
indefinitely  retard  the  crossing. 

About  twelve  or  fifteen  thousand  of  Hood's  scattered 
forces  had  reached  Augusta.  Hardee  had  moved  over 
the  river  at  Savannah  with  at  least  twelve  thousand 
infantry,  and  as  many  more  could  be  gathered  from 
Charleston  and  other  points  as  far  north  as  Wilming- 
ton. These  forces,  united  with  the  cavalry  of  Wheeler 
and  Wade  Hampton,  ought  to  have  made  our  march 
through  such  a  country  at  that  season  of  the  year  well- 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL    CHARLES  D.  KERR.      219 

nigli  impracticable.  But  Sherman  knew  his  army,  and 
the  army  knew  and  believed  in  Sherman.  He  saw  all 
the  obstacles  and  dangers  which  opposed  his  under- 
taking, but  he  knew  also  the  means  by  which,  as  he 
hoped,  they  might  be  conquered.  An  army  has  a  soul 
as  well  as  the  individual  man,  and  nothing  is  impos- 
sible to  the  unconquerable  spirit  of  such  a  host  as 
marched  with  Sherman  into  South  Carolina. 

We  had  noted  through  Georgia  a  strong  feeling  of 
dislike  towards  South  Carolina.  Among  the  common 
people  especially  the  idea  was  prevalent  that  the  woes 
and  miseries  of  the  South  were  largely  attributable  to 
that  cradle  of  secession.  The  expression  was  almost 
general  that  if  we  would  only  march  through  South 
Carolina,  and  give  her  a  touch  of  the  same  discipline 
we  were  administering  to  Georgia,  they  would  bear 
their  suffering  with  more  resignation.  It  is  needless  to 
say  that  this  sentiment  met  a  ready  response  among  our 
men,  and  when  we  reached  the  Savannah  Kiver  and 
looked  across  to  the  original  soil  of  secession  there  was 
many  an  imprecation  and  threat,  which  afterwards  bore 
fearful  fruit.  It  was  universally  understood  that  the 
little  finger  of  the  army  in  South  Carolina  was  to  be 
thicker  than  its  loins  in  Georgia. 

The  Fourteenth  Army  Corps  crossed  the  Savannah 
Kiver  at  Sister's  Ferry,  about  thirty  miles  above  Savan- 
nah, on  the  5th  da}^  of  February,  1865.  Our  experi- 
ence that  day  was  simply  a  foretaste  of  what  was  to 
come.  It  had  been  raining  for  several  days,  and  we 
marched  waist-deep  in  water  for  a  hundred  rods  after 
reaching  the  Carolina  shore.  My  diary  for  Monday, 
February  6,  reads  as  follows :  "  In  camp.     Rained  all 


220         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

night.  First  and  Third  Division  trains  loading  from 
boats.  Men  dug  up  piano,  books,  and  many  costly  ar- 
ticles of  furniture  in  camp;  everybody  digging.  Also 
dug  up  land-turtle,  which  made  excellent  soup."  You 
will  please  not  infer  from  this  that  turtle-soup  was  an 
ordinary  episode  of  the  campaign  of  the  Carolinas. 

From  this  on  my  diary  tells  an  unvarying  story  of 
rain,  mud,  corduroying,  forced  marches,  short  rations, 
and  hardships  almost  beyond  endurance.  It  tells,  also, 
day  by  day,  of  houses  burned,  property  destroyed,  and 
the  country  laid  waste  as  if  by  the  spirit  of  desolation. 
An  army  marching  through  a  land  is  a  fearful  scourge, 
even  when  the  most  rigid  discipline  is  maintained ;  but 
when  let  loose,  as  our  army  was  in  South  Carolina,  it  is 
simply  indescribable. 

Of  the  forty -five  days  consumed  by  the  march  from 
the  Savannah  Eiver  to  Goldsboro',  no  less  than  twenty- 
eight  were  rainy,  and  yet  it  was  not  uncommon  to  make 
as  high  as  twenty-four  miles  in  a  day.  The  march  was 
not  only  more  difficult  but  more  interesting  and  ex- 
citing than  that  through  Georgia.  A  volume  would 
hardly  suffice  to  relate  the  incidents  noted  in  my  diary. 
I  cannot  but  regret  that  my  limited  time  this  evening 
compels  so  cursory  a  review  of  a  campaign  so  full  of 
interest  to  the  soldier. 

A  Confederate  army  never  had  so  many  lost  oppor- 
tunities as  that  which  confronted  us  in  the  Carolinas. 
Of  course  the  strategy  of  Sherman,  which  always  kept 
it  doubtful  what  points  we  would  strike,  had  much  to 
do  with  our  success,  but  I  think  it  was  owing  largely 
also  to  the  imbecility  of  Beauregard,  Hardee,  and  Wade 
Hampton.     The  path  of  the  army  through  South  Caro- 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL    CHARLES  D.  KERR.      221 

lina  was  from  forty  to  fifty  miles  wide,  embracing  in 
its  destructive  scope  every  railroad  in  the  State.  Not 
only  this,  but  if  Sherman  should  reach  Raleigh  it 
meant  death  to  the  Confederacy,  unless  Lee  could  es- 
cape from  Grant  and  crush  the  army  of  Sherman 
before  being  overtaken. 

Jefferson  Davis  could  no  longer  conceal  the  gravity 
of  the  situation  from  his  people  or  their  army.  In  the 
desperation  of  the  crisis  he  gave  to  Lee  the  supreme 
command  of  all  the  armies.  That  sagacious  leader 
again  placed  Joe  Johnston  at  the  head  of  the  forces 
opposed  to  Sherman.  But  even  the  cautious  Johnston 
could  not  stem  our  victorious  march.  Not  only  a  gen- 
eral was  to  be  found  for  the  army  but  an  army  must 
also  be  found  for  the  general.  The  Confederate  troops 
in  the  Carolinas,  weakened  by  desertion,  demoralized 
by  defeat,  and  dispirited  by  continued  misfortune,  had 
unlearned,  under  incompetent  generals,  that  warlike 
impetuosity,  which  as  it  is  the  consequence  so  it  is  the 
guarantee  of  success. 

The  length  of  this  article  admonishes  me  that  I 
must  pass  quickly  over  the  stirring  events  of  a  cam- 
paign by  far  the  most  interesting  to  me  of  the  war. 
Of  Fayetteville,  Columbia,  Cheraw,  and  many  points 
made  historic  by  conflicts  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  I 
find  in  my  diary  sufficient  material  for  a  separate 
article.  My  recollection  of  the  battles  of  Averysboro' 
and  Bentonville  is  saddened  by  the  thought  of  the 
many  brave  men  of  my  regiment  who  fell  there,  so 
near  the  end  of  the  war.  The  true  history  of  the 
battle  of  Bentonville  remains  yet  to  be  told.  We 
formed  a  junction  at  last  at  Goldsboro'  with  Schofield 


222         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

and  Terry.     An   army  more  indomitable  as  to  spirit 
and  more  tatterdemalion  as  to  attire  than  Sherman's 
when  it  reached  Goldsboro'  can  scarcely  be  imagined. 
A  gunboat  had  visited  us  at  Fayetteville,  but  no  cloth- 
ing or  equipments  came,  and  the  men  went  through 
in  the  same  clothes  in  which  they  started  from  Savan- 
nah, except  where  supplemented  from  rebel  wardrobes. 
Officers    as  well    as   men  were   ragged,   half   shod  or 
shoeless,    and   smeared    from    head    to    foot   with    the 
pitch  of  the  North  Carolina  pine.     They  were  footsore 
also,  and  worn  out  with  fighting  the  elements  and  the 
enemy.     In   this  condition   the  attempt  was  made  to 
force   a   grand   review  at  Goldsboro'    before    General 
Schofield    and  his    army,   who  were  in   exceptionally 
clean   and    comfortable   attire.      This  was  a  little  too 
much,  and  mutterings  were  heard  on  every  hand.     The 
men  declared  if  they  must  pass  in  review  it  should  be 
done  with  everything  in  harmony,  and  this  feeling  was 
openly  countenanced  or  winked  at  by  the  officers. 

The  review  commenced,  but  it  did  not  last  very  long. 
I  don't  know  who  stopped  it.  Perhaps  the  one  or  two 
regiments  that  did  pass  by  the  reviewing  officers  were 
considered  a  sufficient  sample  of  the  whole.  At  all 
events  we  were  all  ordered  back  to  our  camps,  and  the 
review  was  the  joke  of  the  army  for  a  season.  Proba- 
bly in  all  the  wars  of  the  world  there  never  was  seen 
so  bizarre  and  comical  a  sight  as  the  leading  regiments 
of  this  column  which  commenced  that  review.  Nearly 
every  soldier  had  some  token  of  the  march  on  his 
bayonet  from  a  pig  to  a  potato.  It  was  no  doubt  con- 
sidered the  sooner  the  show  was  ended  the  better  for 
the  discipline  of  the  army. 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL   CHARLES  D.  KERR.      223 

The  history  of  the  march  from  Goldsboro'  to  Raleigh 
and  the  surrender  of  the  last  great  army  of  the  Rebel- 
lion is  familiar  to  all.  In  his  pro|)Osed  treaty  with 
Johnston,  Sherman  displayed  the  rare  qualities  which 
distinguished  his  career.  He  had  been  as  inexorable 
as  fate  and  severe  enough  to  suit  the  most  exacting 
while  Rebellion  yet  held  arms  in  its  hands,  but  when 
the  cause  was  abandoned  and  the  arms  laid  down,  he 
did  not  forget  moderation  in  the  intoxication  of  success, 
or  justice  in  the  plenitude  of  power.  I  shall  perhaps 
differ  in  this  also  from  many  of  my  comrades  who 
listen  to  this  paper,  but  to  my  mind  Sherman  bright- 
ened the  lustre  of  his  triumphal  march  by  the  brighter 
splendor  of  moderation  and  clemency  at  its  close. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  THE  WAR 


IN   THE 


DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  MISSOURI. 

BY   BEIGADIEK-GENERAL  JOHN   B.   SANBOEN, 

BREVET   MAJOR-GENERAL   U.  S.  VOLUNTEERS. 


Companions: — The  attractions  of  war  are  its  un- 
fading laurels,  its  imperishable  glories.  For  these  men 
aim,  and  strive  to  win  them  as  priceless  gems  or  im- 
mortal crowns.  The  dazzling  lustre  of  these  laurels 
hides  from  view  the  weary  march,  the  exposed  bivouac, 
the  suffering,  the  wounds,  the  death  on  the  battle-field. 
In  a  few  months  of  actual  service  the  illusion  vanishes, 
and  all  soldiers  soon  learn  that  while  toil,  labor,  ex- 
posure, wounds,  and  death  in  war  are  for  the  many,  the 
glory  and  the  renown  are  for  the  few. 

It  is  very  agreeable  and  pleasant  for  us  to  write, 
speak  of,  and  contemplate  the  pleasant  and  glorious 
things  of  the  war  and  of  our  army  life ;  it  may,  how- 
ever, be  not  less  profitable  to  ourselves  and  to  future 
generations  for  us  to  dwell  awhile,  and  write  somewhat 
of  the  unpleasant  and  destructive  phases  of  war,  of  its 
effect  upon  peaceful  and  orderly  communities ;  the  bit- 
terness and  wrath  that  in  civil  war  is  engendered  be- 

224 


ADDRESS  BY   GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      225 

tween  man  and  man,  and  neighborhood  and  neighbor- 
hood ;  of  those  deep-seated  and  hidden  passions  that 
lie  concealed  in  the  breasts  of  civilized  and  Christian- 
ized people,  which  break  forth  when  kindled  and 
aroused  by  war  and  civil  strife,  and  lead  to  more  hor- 
rible and  cruel  deeds  than  have  ever  been  practised  by 
the  most  savage  of  our  aboriginal  tribes  upon  the  most 
hated  of  their  fallen  enemies ;  how  at  such  times 

'•Religion,  blushing,  veils  her  sacred  fires, 
And,  unawares,  morality  expires." 

Vicksburg  had  fallen.  The  rebel  armies  had  been 
hurled  back  in  disorder  from  the  bloody  heights  of 
Gettysburg ;  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  was  tempo- 
rarily at  bay  near  the  well-contested  field  of  Chicka- 
mauga,  waiting  for  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  from 
which  it  had  separated  a  little  more  than  a  year  before, 
after  the  surrender  of  Corinth,  to  again  join  hands  with 
her,  and,  by  a  combined  movement  and  effort,  over- 
whelm the  only  remaining  well-organized  army  in  the 
Confederacy.  It  was  now  October,  1863.  My  old  com- 
mand, First  Brigade,  Seventh  Division,  Seventeenth 
Army  Corps,  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  had  reached 
luka,  leaving  the  Mississippi  Kiver  at  Memphis  on  its 
march  to  Chattanooga  to  join  the  Army  of  the  Cum- 
berland. Thirty  or  forty  general  officers,  who  were  to 
join  their  commands  by  the  Memphis  and  Charleston 
Railroad  in  a  day  or  two,  were  in  the  room  occupied  by 
General  Grant  at  the  Gayoso  House  at  Memphis.  The 
general  was  at  his  table  writing  as  rapidly  as  he  could 
move  his  pen,  when  an  orderly  handed  him  a  telegram. 
He  opened  it  and  read  it  aloud.     It  was  from  General 

15 


226         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

Halleck  at  Wasliington,  tlien  general-in-chief  of  the 
armies,  and  directed  General  Grant  to  send  one,  or,  if 
he  could  possibly  spare  them,  two  general  officers  to 
General  Schofield  at  St.  Louis  to  aid  him  in  driving 
the  rebel  forces  under  General  Shelby  from  Missouri. 
The  explosion  of  a  bomb-shell  would  not  have  produced 
a  more  marked  effect.  The  more  nervous  of  these 
officers  jumped  from  their  seats  and  left  the  room. 
Those  who  remained  looked  at  General  Grant  and  then 
at  each  other,  as  if  expecting  a  dire  calamity  to  befall 
them. 

All  had  been  with  him  through  his  campaigns  of 
1862  and  1863,  knew  their  own  commands  and  all 
other  commands  and  commanders  in  that  army,  and 
for  one  to  leave  was  like  the  breaking  up  of  a  family 
and  leaving  home.  Whatever  of  rank  or  fame  or 
military  reputation  each  had  acquired  had  been  won 
in  that  army,  and  to  leave  was  to  leave  home  and 
friends,  honor  and  fame,  civilized  and  honorable  war- 
fare, and  go  among  strangers,  into  a  dark  and  bloody 
region,  where  the  war  was  carried  on  with  a  barbarity 
and  cruelty  that  would  have  been  disapproved  by  the 
Comanche  or  Sioux  Indians. 

General  Grant  saw,  in  an  instant,  how  repulsive  the 
idea  was  to  every  one  of  his  officers,  and  remarked, 
"  The  service  will  be  but  temporary ;  whoever  goes  I 
will  see  that  he  is  back  to  his  command  before  I 
am  ready  to  advance  from  Chattanooga;"  and  turning 
towards  me,  said,  "  General,  no  brigade  in  the  absence 
of  its  commander  has  as  good  a  commander  as  yours." 
(This  was  a  compliment  to  Colonel  Jesse  I.  Alexandei-, 
Fifty-ninth  Indiana  Volunteers,  who  was  with  him  in 


ADDRESS  BY   GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      227 

Mexico.)  "  I  wish  you  would  go  willingly  and  help 
Schofield  out  in  his  department."  To  me  these  words 
were  words  of  doom. 

The  next  morning  I  was  on  a  boat,  steaming  towards 
St.  Louis.  General  Grant  and  his  staff  officers  were 
on  board  en  route  to  Louisville  and  Chattanooga,  pur- 
suant to  orders  from  the  Secretary  of  War  for  him  to 
proceed  thither  and  take  command  of  the  troops  at 
that  point.  The  trip  to  Cairo  was  delightful.  At  the 
separation  at  Cairo  I  was  again  assured  of  my  speedy 
return  to  my  command,  but  the  separation  was  forever. 
I  am  glad  to  know,  through  General  Schofield,  that  it 
was  not  the  failure  of  General  Grant  to  request  my 
return,  as  he  had  stated,  but  of  General  Schofield's 
disapproval  of  this  request,  and  the  action  of  the  au- 
thorities at  Washington,  based  upon  the  disapproval 
of  General  Schofield. 

Reporting  at  department  headquarters  in  St.  Louis, 
I  was  at  once  advised  of  where  the  rebel  forces  were 
that  were  operating  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  as- 
sio-ned  to  the  command  of  the  District  of  Southwest 
Missouri  and  given  the  full  authority  of  a  separate 
commander.  The  state  of  affairs,  military  and  civil, 
in  the  State  of  Missouri  at  this  time  was  deplorable 
beyond  description.  It  has  always  been  and  alw^ays 
will  be  a  subject  of  discussion  as  to  what  errors  or 
blunders  of  the  early  commanders  brought  about  the 
serious  condition  of  affairs  that  then  existed.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  war  the  State  was  in  what  was  known 
as  the  Western  Department,  and  the  department  was 
under  the  command  of  General  W.  S.  Harney,  with 
his  headquarters  at  St.  Louis.     On  the  21st  of  April, 


228         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

1861,  he  had  relinquished  his  command,  by  a  general 
order  dated  that  day ;  on  the  11th  day  of  May,  1861, 
in  pursuance,  as  he  says  in  his  order,  of  instructions 
received  from  the  adjutant-general's  office,  he  resumed 
command  of  the  Department  of  the  West,. and  retained 
it  for  the  short  space  of  nineteen  days,  when  he  again 
relinquished  the  command ;  and,  on  the  3d  day  of 
July  of  that  year.  General  Fremont  was  assigned  to 
the  command  by  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  assumed  command  of  the  Western  Department  on 
the  25th  day  of  July,  1861. 

The  first  army,  entitled  to  the  name,  that  was  organ- 
ized in  the  West  in  the  War  of  the  Kebellion,  was 
organized  under  General  Fremont's  command,  and 
during  that  period  some  questions  were  considered  and 
were  agitated  which  set  in  motion  that  intense  bitter- 
ness which  existed  in  the  department  in  1863.  On  the 
30tli  of  August,  1861,  five  days  after  he  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  department.  General  Fremont  issued  his 
famous  order,  dated  St.  Louis,  August  30,  1861,  in  the 
following  words : 

"  Circumstances,  in  my  judgment  of  sufficient  urgency,  render 
it  necessary  that  the  commanding  general  of  this  department 
should  assume  the  administrative  powers  of  the  State.  Its  dis- 
organized condition  ;  the  helplessness  of  the  civil  authority;  the 
total  insecurity  of  life  ;  and  the  devastation  of  property  by 
bands  of  murderers  and  marauders,  who  infest  nearly  every 
county  of  the  State,  and  avail  themselves  of  the  public  misfor- 
tunes, and  the  presence  of  a  hostile  force,  to  gratify  private 
and  neighborhood  vengeance,  and  who  find  an  enemy  wherever 
they  find  plunder,  plainly  demand  the  severest  measures  to  re- 
press the  daily  increasing  crimes  and  outrages  which  are  driving 
off  the  inhabitants  and  ruiniiio;  the  State.  « 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      229 

"  In  this  condition  the  public  safety  and  the  success  of  our 
armies  require  unity  of  purpose,  without  let  or  hindrance,  to 
the  prompt  administration  of  affairs.  In  order,  therefore,  to 
suppress  disorder,  maintain,  as  far  as  now  practicable,  the 
public  peace,  and  to  give  security  and  protection  to  the  per- 
sons and  propert}^  of  loyal  citizens,  I  do  hereby  extend  and 
declare  established  martial  law  throughout  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri. 

"  The  lines  of  the  army  of  occupation  in  this  State  are  for 
the  present  declared  to  extend  from  Leavenworth,  via  posts  of 
Jefferson  City,  Eolla,  and  Ironton,  to  Cape  Girardeau  on  the 
Mississippi  Eiver.  All  persons  who  shall  he  taken  with  arms  in 
their  hands  loithin  these  lines  shall  be  tried  by  court-martial,  and  if 
found  guilty  will  be  shot. 

"  The  property,  real  and  personal,  of  all  persons  in  the  State 
of  Missouri  who  shall  take  up  arms  against  the  United  States, 
or  who  shall  be  directly  proven  to  have  taken  an  active  part 
with  their  enemies  in  the  field,  is  declared  to  be  confiscated  to 
the  public  use,  and  their  slaves,  if  any  they  have,  are  hereby 
declared  fi'ee  men.  All  persons  who  shall  be  proven  to  have 
destroyed,  after  the  publication  of  this  order,  railroad  tracks, 
bridges,  or  telegraphs,  shall  suffer  the  extreme  penalty  of  the 
law.  Ail  persons  engaged  in  treasonable  correspondence,  in 
giving  or  procuring  aid  to  the  enemies  of  the  United  States,  in 
fomenting  tumults,  in  disturbing  the  public  tranquillity  by 
creating  and  circulating  false  reports  or  incendiary  documents, 
are  in  their  own  interests  warned  that  they  are  exposing  them- 
selves to  sudden  and  severe  punishment.  All  persons  who  have 
been  led  away  from  their  allegiance  are  required  to  return  to 
their  homes  forthwith.  Any  such  absence  without  sufficient 
cause  shall  be  held  to  be  presumptive  evidence  against  them. 

"  The  object  of  this  declaration  is  to  place  in  the  hands  of 
the  military  authorities  the  power  to  give  instantaneous  effect 
to  existing  laws  and  to  supply  such  deficiencies  as  the  con- 
ditions of  war  demand  ;  but  this  is  not  intended  to  suspend  the 
ordinary  tribunals  of  the  country,  where  the  law  will  be  ad- 
ministered by  the  civil  officers  in  the  usual  manner  and  with 
their  customary  authority  while  the  same  can  be  peaceably  ex- 


230         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

ereised.  The  commanding  general  will  labor  vigilantly  for  the 
public  welfare,  and  in  his  efforts  for  their  safety  hopes  to  obtain 
not  only  the  acquiescence  but  the  active  support  of  the  loyal 
people  of  the  countiy." 

This  order  has  been  called  "  Fremont's  Proclamation 
of  Confiscation  and  Emancipation."  That  portion  of 
Missouri  which  he  claimed  to  be  within  the  Federal 
lines  was  filled  with  two  classes  of  people, — those  who 
were  the  most  intensely  loyal  of  any  people  in  the 
United  States,  and  those  who  were  the  most  disloyal  of 
any  people  in  the  United  States,  not  even  excepting 
those  living  in  and  around  Charleston  in  South  Caro- 
lina. 

The  order  was  followed  on  the  following  day  by  a 
retaliatory  order  from  General  M.  Jeff.  Thompson,  com- 
manding the  State  forces  under  Governor  Jackson,  in 
which,  among  other  language,  he  used  the  following : 

"  I  do  most  solemnly  promise  that  for  every  member  of  the 
Missouri  State  Guard  or  soldier  of  our  allies,  the  armies  of  the 
Confederate  States,  who  shall  be  put  to  death  in  pursuance  of 
the  said  order  of  General  Fremont,  I  will  hang,  draw,  and 
quarter  a  minion  of  said  Abraham  Lincoln." 

Two  days  after  the  date  of  the  order,  Mr.  Lincoln, 
with  that  wisdom  and  foresight  with  which  he  seemed 
to  have  been  gifted,  and  which  seemed  almost  super- 
natural, wrote  as  follows  to  General  Fremont : 

"  My  dear  Sir, — Two  points  in  your  proclamation  of  August 
30  give  me  some  anxiety  :  First,  should  you  shoot  a  man  ac- 
cording to  the  proclamation,  the  Confederates  would  very  cer- 
tainly shoot  our  best  man  in  their  hands,  and  so  man  for  man 
indefinitely.  It  is  therefore  my  order  that  you  allow  no  man  to 
be  shot  under  the  proclamation  without  first  having  my  appro- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      231 

bation  or  consent.  Second,  I  think  there  is  great  danger  that 
the  closing  paragraph,  in  relation  to  the  confiscation  of  prop- 
erty and  the  liberation  of  slaves  of  traders  and  owners,  will 
alarm  our  Southern  Union  friends  and  turn  them  against  us, 
perhaps  ruin  our  rather  fair  prospects  for  Kentucky.  Allow 
me,  therefore,  to  ask  that  you,  as  of  your  own  motion,  modify 
that  paragraph  so  as  to  conform  to  the  first  and  fourth  sections 
of  the  act  of  Congress  entitled  '  An  act  to  confiscate  property 
used  for  insurrectionary  purposes,'  approved  August  6,  1861,  a 
copy  of  which  act  I  herewith  send  you.  This  letter  is  written 
in  a  spirit  of  caution  and  not  of  censure.  I  send  it  by  a  special 
messenger  in  order  that  it  may  more  certainly  and  speedily 
reach  you. 

"  Yours  very  truly, 
"  A.  Lincoln." 

On  the  8tli  of  September  General  Fremont  declined 
to  modify  liis  order,  and  requested  the  President  to 
modify  it  as  he  shotdd  see  best,  and  the  President  on 
the  lltli  of  September  modified  it  as  follows: 

"It  is  therefore  ordered  that  the  said  clause  of  said  proclama- 
tion be  so  modified,  held,  and  construed  as  to  conform  to  and  not 
to  transcend  the  provisions  on  the  same  subject  contained  in  the 
act  of  Congress  entitled  'An  act  to  confiscate  property  used  for 
insurrectionary  purposes,'  approved  August  6,  1861,  and  that 
said  act  be  published  at  length  with  this  order." 

The  clause  referred  to  was  the  clause  relating  to  the 
confiscation  of  property  and  the  liberation  of  slaves. 
That  portion  of  the  order  which  provided  for  shooting 
all  persons  who  should  be  taken  with  arms  in  their 
hands  north  of  the  line  designated  in  the  order,  though 
formally  modified  by  the  President,  practically  still 
remained  in  force,  and  the  bitterness  was  so  intense 
that  it  was  not  found  difficult  to  find  officers  who  exe- 
cuted that  portion  of  the  order  with  the  greatest  alac- 


232         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

rity,  and  the  destruction  of  life  and  property  proceeded, 
on  both  sides,  with  the  utmost  vigor ;  and  on  the  25th 
of  September,  1862,  under  the  orders  of  General  Merrill, 
ten  Confederate  prisoners  were  executed  at  Macon  in 
retaliation  for  the  capture  and  killing  of  a  Union  citi- 
zen, and  on  the  18th  of  October  of  the  same  year  ten 
Confederate  prisoners  at  Palmyra  were  executed  by 
order  of  General  John  McNeill  for  a  like  offence. 
These  prisoners  thus  put  to  death  were  citizens  of  the 
State,  who  had  committed  no  offence  against  the  laws 
beyond  expressing  their  sympathy  for  the  Southern 
cause,  or  who  had  taken  their  arms  and  started  to  join 
the  Confederate  armies.  They  were  all  sympathizers 
with  the  Rebellion,  and  their  offence  was  political  more 
than  civil. 

It  seemed  to  me  then,  and  has  always  seemed  to  me, 
upon  reflection,  since,  that  taking  the  condition  of  so- 
ciety in  the  State  of  Missouri  into  account,  the  fact 
that  loyalists  and  disloyalists  were  mingling  together  in 
every  community,  the  putting  to  death  of  such  citizen 
prisoners  in  retaliation  for  the  capture  and  destruction 
of  Union  people  by  the  lawless  men  who  made  their 
sympathy  with  the  Confederacy  their  pretext  for  so 
doing,  resulted  in  endless  harm,  and  precipitated  that 
condition  of  affairs  in  Missouri  which  we  are  to  con- 
sider hereafter,  and  which,  in  all  my  observation  and 
all  my  reading,  I  have  never  found  equalled  in  any 
country  or  in  any  age.  The  fact  that  a  young  unmar- 
ried man  voluntarily  substituted  himself  for  a  man 
having  a  family  who  had  drawn  his  lot  to  be  shot  at 
Palmyra  incited  both  sympathy  and  indignation. 

It  was  the  current  rumor  in  the  army  that  the  De- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      233 

partment  of  the  Missouri  was  the  graveyard  of  military 
reputations  and  generals.  General  Harney  was  re- 
lieved of  command  under  no  cloud,  so  far  as  military 
services  were  concerned,  but  the  whole  North  enter- 
tained feelings  of  distrust  in  regard  to  his  loyalty. 
General  Fremont  relinquished  his  command  of  the 
department  November  2,  1861.  When  he  assumed 
command  he  had  the  confidence  of  the  whole  country 
and  was  held  in  the  highest  estimation  by  all.  When 
he  relinquished  the  command,  the  country  had  lost 
confidence  in  him  as  a  general,  and  he  achieved  noth- 
ing which  has  since  added  anything  to  his  reputation 
and  fame.  On  the  19th  day  of  November,  1861,  Gen- 
eral Henry  W.  Halleck  assumed  command  of  the  De- 
partment of  the  Missouri,  and  designated  the  States  of 
Missouri,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  Arkan- 
sas, and  that  portion  of  Kentucky  west  of  the  Cumber- 
land River  as  the  territory  that  was  included  in  that 
department,  and  required  all  reports  and  returns  to  be 
made  to  the  headquarters  of  that  department  in  the 
city  of  St.  Louis. 

During  Fremont's  command  in  this  department  and 
State,  no  battles  had  been  fought  save  that  at  Wilson's 
Creek,  under  the  command  of  General  Lyon ;  and  his 
failure  to  send  any  reinforcements  or  to  afford  any 
support  to  General  Lyon  when  he  was  about  to  attack 
a  largely  superior  force,  led  to  a  loss  of  all  confidence 
in  General  Fremont  by  the  thoughtful  men  of  the 
country.  While  General  Lyon  was  a  soldier  of  the 
highest  type,  he  was  in  full  accord  in  sentiment  with 
Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  Republican  party ;  he  was  one  of 
those  officers  of  the  regular  army  who  if  anything  was 


234         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

in  advance  of  the  public  sentiment  of  the  North  in 
regard  to  the  question  of  slavery.     He  seemed  to  have 
yearned  and  burned   for  the   day  to   come  when  the 
Republican  party  should   be  in   power,  and  when  he 
could  show  his  attachment  to  the  cause  of  freedom  by 
his  services  on  the  field.     He  had  left  Fort  Riley,  in 
Kansas,  in  March,  1861,  and  been  ordered  to  St.  Louis, 
and  was  on  duty  in  the  arsenal  in  the  spring  of  that 
year.     He  wrote  a  letter  while  there  to  an  old  friend 
of  his  at  Fort  Riley,  who  was  afterwards  a  quartermas- 
ter on  my  staff"  and  who  gave  me  several  of  the  original 
letters  of  General  Lyon,  written  while  he  was  on  duty 
at  the  arsenal.     At  the  risk  of  wearying  your  patience 
somewhat  I   will    read   one  of   these  original   letters, 
simply  to  show  the  character,  principles,  and  feelings 
of  this  officer  at  that  time.     It  is  a  letter  written  to  a 
confidential  friend,  and  contains  the  utterances  of  one 
of  the  most   zealous   and   loyal   hearts  of  the  regular 
army,  and  shows  some  of  the  difficulties  with  which 
he  was  surrounded.     It  is  dated  "  St.  Louis  Arsenal, 
March  7,  1861,"  but  the  stamp  on  the  envelope  shows 
clearly  that  it  should  have  been  April  7,  1861.     The 
letter  is  as  follows  : 

"  Dr.  Scott, — Your  note  of  the  2d  inst.  was  received  last  even- 
ing and  I  am  much  obliged  for  your  kind  attention.  I  go  up 
to  town  often  and  have  just  returned.  I  always  find  myself 
busy  there,  and  to  hurry  back  to  attend  drills,  etc.  I  met 
Mrs.  Mclntyre  and  Miss  Atkinson  some  days  ago  there,  but 
have  not  been  down  to  call  on  them.  "Went  down  and  spent 
one  day  at  the  barracks  with  Robinson  and  wife,  and  famil}'  of 
Major  Macrae.  Have  met  Mrs.  Wilson  and  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
Thompson.  Thompson  was  here  on  duty  but  has  gone  to 
Leavenworth;  shall  call  on  these  ladies  soon.  Captain  Steele 
of  the  dragoons  is  in  town,  having  been  deprived  of  bis  com- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  JOHX  B.  SANBORN.      235 

mand  at  Leavenworth  by  old  Scott  with  his  characteristic 
tyrannj^.  He  feels  badly.  I  saw  O'Connell  in  town  to-day,  but 
did  not  give  him  McLean's  message.  I  will  do  so  soon.  He  is 
often  down  here.  Please  thank  McLean  for  his  kind  sentiments 
and  eiforts. 

"I  get  very  mad  in  thinking  over  the  villainy  of  old  Scott's 
character  and  the  outrage  done  me  and  the  line  of  the  army. 
I  have  expected  the  necessity  for  a  correction  of  this  would 
force  the  new  administration  to  do  it.  I  cannot  say  that  it 
will,  as  Lincoln  seems  to  have  put  himself  in  this  man's  hands. 
I  should  not  fret  mj-self  so  much  if  Hagner  had  any  capacity 
for  command  and  zeal  for  the  service,  but  his  persistent  refusal 
to  take  any  precautions  for  defence,  and  his  orders  that  we  are 
not  to  repel  an  attacking  force  till  he  has  taken  possession  of 
our  walls  and  securely  lodged  himself  behind  them  and  so  en- 
tered our  grounds  that  we  are  measurably  in  the  enemj^'s  power, 
convince  me  of  covert  treachery  or  unaccountable  imbecility. 
In  case  of  an  attack  I  suspect  we  shall  have  traitors  inside  as 
well  as  outside,  and  you  ma}'  rely  upon  it,  so  far  as  in  ni}-  power, 
both  will  be  dealt  with  as  effectually  as  circumstances  will  per- 
mit. If,  as  I  suspect,  old  Scott  wants  this  place  given  up,  and 
oui'selves  disgraced  and  our  country  still  further  degraded,  he 
had  better  get  me  and  some  others  of  the  officers  now  here  out 
of  the  place  before  the  attempt  is  made.  By  proper  precau- 
tions we  can  hold  this  place  easily  with  less  force  than  we  now 
have,  and  though,  as  it  is,  I  hope  we  shall  hold  it,  Ave  must  do 
so,  if  attacked,  at  great  sacrifice.  I  should  like  old  Scott  to  know 
that  I  see  in  this  matter  confirmatory  evidence  of  what  I  have 
always  regarded  him,  as  an  unqualified  scoundrel,  and  if  the 
present  impending  danger  subsides  I  shall  do  what  I  can  to  put 
this  matter  in  a  proper  light  and  bring  it  to  its  legal  beai'ing. 

"  Soon  after  I  ari-ived  here  I  was  able  to  see  that  purposes  of 
an  attempt  on  this  place  were  entertained,  but  the  matter  sub- 
sided and  the  secessionists  have  laid  their  plans  for  an  extr^oi'- 
dinary  effort,  to  be  stimulated  upon  the  indignation  at  Lincoln's 
address.  At  that  time  a  secession  flag  was  raised  in  the  city 
and  riot  threatened.  I  cannot  sa}''  that  a.i\j  purposes  were  en- 
tertained concerning  this  place.     The  convention  is  in  session 


236         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

here,  and  so  far  is  doing  very  well,  but  a  popular  hobby  with 
the  secessionists  is  to  cry  out  against  coercion,  and  in  connection 
with  this  to  put  the  policy  of  Lincoln,  as  properly  set  forth  in 
his  address,  in  such  an  attitude  of  coercion  as  shall  appeal  to 
the  coercion  opposition,  and  place  Missouri  in  an  attitude  of 
hostility  to  the  government.  This  policy  or  that  of  determin- 
ing upon  a  convention  of  the  border  slave  States  seems  likely 
to  succeed.  Of  course  I  like  the  purpose  declared  by  Mr.  Lin- 
coln, to  hold,  occupy,  and  possess  public  places,  etc.  Let  him 
do  this,  save  poor  Anderson  and  other  victims  of  Buchanan's 
treachery,  with  discretion  and  firmness,  and  though  it  may  cost 
us  much  lead,  it  is  the  only  way  to  effect  anj^thing  and  save  us 
from  entire  anarchy  and  destruction. 

''  Tell  our  Eepiiblican  friends  that  Major  Anderson  should 
have  the  brigadier-generalship  ;  Sumner  does  not  deserve  it ;  he 
is  now  as  high  as  he  ought  to  be,  and  let  this  signal  heroism, 
which  is  the  delight  of  our  countrymen,  be  duly  rewarded.  We 
cannot  do  too  much  for  Major  Anderson  and  his  heroic  party.  I 
regret  to  see  thus  early  a  spirit  of  partisan  policy  that  would  ad- 
vance party  and  personal  favors  at  the  expense  of  justice  and 
the  interests  of  the  service,  and  this  party  from  which  I  had 
hoped  so  much,  whose  advent  to  power  1  had  so  much  longed 
and  labored  for,  at  once  demoralized  by  that  odious  feature  of 
Democracy.  If  Mr.  Lincoln  cannot  upon  the  avowed  purpose 
of  his  party  rise  above  party  tricks  and  sordid  aims,  we  are 
indeed  most  miserable,  and  I  can  see  nothing  before  us  but  dis- 
affection in  his  own  party  and  general  misrule  and  disaster.  I 
would  apply  these  remarks  to  the  question  of  this  generalship 
and  other  appointments  to  the  army  in  which  we  are  interested, 
—that  case  of  old  W.  B.  Montgomery,  dismissed  for  his  villainy 
at  Fort  Eiley.  I  presume  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  party  will  be 
favorable  to  his  restoration.  I  wish  you  would  speak  to  such  of 
them  as  you  know  and  to  Senator  Foster  of  my  State,  and  say 
that  his  reappointment  will  be  a  great  outrage,  and  that  I  will, 
if  made,  so  expose  it  over  my  own  name.  I  would  Hke  you  to 
inform  me  if  this  matter  is  in  contemplation.  Tell  me  who  of 
our  Kansas  people  are  in  Washington,— Delahay,  Vinaldi,  Dr. 
Woodward,  etc.  If  any  of  them  whom  I  know  are  there,  say 
my  regards. 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      237 

"  Do  you  know  Miss  Julia  Lee,  daughter  of  Major  Lee  of  tlie 
commissar}'  department  ?  These  Julias  seem  to  possess  a  pecu- 
liar charm,  and  there  must  be  something  in  the  name.  Please 
go  to  her  and  say  my  regards,  and  that  I  hope  she  is  right 
on  the  question  of  the  Union,  both  national  and  domestic,  but 
that  if  opposed  to  the  former  I  hope  she  may  never  realize  the 
latter,  but  live  on  an  old  maid  forever, — a  sad  fate,  indeed,  but 
less  so  than  that  which  ultimately  awaits  secessionists.  If  any 
of  my  Eepublican  friends  in  Washington  can  do  anything  for 
you,  tell  them  they  have  my  orders  to  do  it.  1  intend  going 
up-town,  and  will  try  and  see  O'Conuell  and  show  him  your 
letter  before  closing  this. 

"Just  returned  from  town,  but  did  not  see  O'Connell.  Will 
do  so  soon,  and  see  that  he  gets  yours  and  McLean's  message. 
Please  say  to  Major  Hunter  that  I  wrote  to  him  and  also  en- 
closed a  letter  for  Mr.  F.  P.  Biair,  in  which  I  pointed  out  the 
wants  of  the  service  here.  Please  ask  the  major  if  he  received 
them.     Sweeney  sends  you  his  regards,  and  I  remain 

"  Yours  truly, 

'■  N.  Lyon." 

When  General  Fremont  assumed  command  of  the 
department,  Lyon  was  in  Southwest  Missouri  in  com- 
mand of  a  small  force  that  he  had  gathered  together  of 
regulars  and  volunteers  from  Kansas  and  Iowa,  and 
was  confronted  by  a  rebel  army  larger  than  any  that 
the  Federals  had  been  able  up  to  that  time  to  get  to- 
gether in  the  West.  The  rebel  force  numbered  from 
twenty  to  twenty-five  thousand  men.  The  force  under 
Lyon  from  four  to  five  thousand.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  General  Fremont  was  kept  in  a  constant 
state  of  alarm  by  the  reports  of  a  contemplated  advance 
upon  St.  Louis  and  Missouri  by  the  Mississippi  River 
and  from  Northeastern  Arkansas  and  Southeastern 
Missouri.  These  reports  were  all  without  foundation. 
General  Lyon  made  the  most  urgent  appeals  for  rein- 


238         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

forcements  on  and  prior  to  August  1,  1861,  and  at  last 
sent  an  old  member  of  Congress  from  Southwest  Mis- 
souri, Colonel  John  S.  Phelps,  who  had  been  a  member 
of  Congress  for  eighteen  years  when  the  war  com- 
menced, and  was  at  that  time  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ways  and  Means,  to  urge  upon  General  Fre- 
mont the  necessity  of  reinforcements  to  General  Lyon. 
All  tliese  applications  failed  to  induce  General  Fremont 
to  forward  any  reinforcements. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  1861,  General  Lyon  received  a 
despatch  by  courier  from  General  Fremont  to  the  effect 
that  he  (Lyon)  had  no  doubt  over-estimated  the  force  in 
his  front ;  that  he  ought  not  to  fall  back  without  good 
cause,  and  assured  him  that  no  reinforcements  could  be 
sent,  and  that  he  must  report  his  future  movements  as 
promptly  as  possible  and  do  the  best  he  could.  To  this 
despatch  General  Lyon  made  the  following  reply  : 

"Springfield,  Missouki,  August  9,  1861. 
"General, — I  have  just  received  your  note  of  the  6th  inst. 
by  special  messenger.  I  retired  to  this  place,  as  I  have  before 
informed  you,  reaching  here  on  the  5th.  The  enemy  followed 
to  within  ten  miles  of  here.  He  has  taken  a  strong  position 
and  is  recruiting  his  supplies,  the  horses,  mules,  and  provisions, 
by  forages  into  the  surrounding  country.  His  large  force  of 
mounted  men  enables  him  to  do  this  without  much  annoyance 
from  me.  I  find  my  position  extremely  embarrassing,  and  am  at 
present  unable  to  determine  whether  1  shall  be  able  to  maintain 
my  ground  or  forced  to  retire.  I  shall  hold  my  ground  as  long 
as  possible,  though  I  may,  without  knowing  how  far,  endanger 
the  safety  of  my  force,  with  its  valuable  material,  being  induced 
by  the  important  consideration  involved  to  take  this  step.  The 
enemy  yesterday  made  a  show  of  force  about  five  miles  distant, 
and  has  doubtless  a  full  purpose  of  making  an  attack  on  us. 
"  Yery  truly  your  obedient  servant, 

"N.  Lyon." 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      239 

On  the  night  of  this  same  day  General  Lyon  moved 
out  his  force  of  four  thousand  five  hundred  men  from 
Springfield  to  the  vicinity  of  the  camp  of  the  enemy, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  10th  at  daylight  commenced 
an  attack  upon  their  camp  and  line  of  battle.  While 
he  lived  to  command  the  line  he  made  constant  ad- 
vances. He  fell  a  little  after  noon  at  a  point  more  than 
half  a  mile  in  front  of  where  his  first  line  of  battle  was 
formed,  and  almost  immediately  after  his  fall  the  Fed- 
eral army  commenced  to  retreat.  A  death  more  heroic 
than  his  is  not  recorded  in  the  annals  of  war.  While 
reconnoitring  his  line  he  had  received  three  wounds, 
and  stepped  to  the  rear  and  had  a  conversation  with 
Major  Sweeney,  looking  faint  and  exhausted,  and  the 
blood  trickling  down  his  face.  He  sat  down  upon  a 
stone  and  seemed  to  be  in  deep  contemplation,  when  a 
force  of  Iowa  and  Kansas  troops  that  had  been  engaged 
and  been  driven  back  and  had  re-formed  came  forward, 
saying,  "We  have  no  one  to  lead  us."  He  immediately 
called  to  one  of  his  orderlies  for  a  horse,  and  mounted, 
saying,  "  Boys,  I  will  lead  you,"  and  led  them  forward 
in  a  charge,  which  received  no  check  until  he  fell  mor- 
tally wounded.  The  spot  where  he  fell  is  now  marked 
by  a  vast  pile  of  common  cobble-stones,  which  have 
been  thrown  up  by  the  patriotic  hands  of  his  country- 
men as  they  have  passed  by  in  the  common  highway. 
Tlie  same  position  where  this  battle  was  fought  was 
occupied  by  about  fifteen  hundred  Confederates  when 
Fremont  advanced  on  the  same  in  the  autumn  follow- 
ing. He  manoeuvred  towards  this  position  slowly  with 
twenty-five  thousand  men,  but  no  other  battle  of  equal 
magnitude  was  ever  fought  in  Missouri,  while  every 


240         GLIMPSES  OF  THE  NATION'S   STRUGGLE. 

county  and  almost  every  town  was  the  scene  of  conflict 
and  bloodshed  during  the  four  succeeding  years,  and 
many  quite  respectable  battles  and  affairs  were  fought. 

The  glory  of  Lyon  is  imperishable,  but  the  path 
which  led  to  it  led  also  to  the  grave.  Fremont  left  the 
department  with  his  reputation  dimmed  and  clouded, 
but  he  was  not  disgraced.  General  Halleck  succeeded 
him  in  command,  and  brought  to  the  department  zeal 
and  a  wealth  of  military  knowledge  that  none  of  his 
predecessors  possessed,  and  which  proved  to  be  of  in- 
estimable value  to  the  country.  He  speedily  organized 
and  put  in  motion  armies  that  never  knew  defeat,  and 
that  proved  to  be  the  instruments  in  the  hands  of  able 
commanders  that  suppressed  the  Kebellion.  Halleck 
made  the  whole  department  a  military  school,  and 
every  subordinate  officer  was  his  pupil.  His  orders 
were  terse,  vigorous,  and  pointed ;  even  the  men  who 
heard  them  read  on  dress  parade  could  remember  them. 
For  our  amusement  more  than  our  instruction  I  will 
read  one  at  this  time.     It  is  as  follows : 

"Headquarters  Department  of  the  Missoxtri. 
"St.  Louis,  Mo.,  December  10,  1861. 
"  General  Orders  No.  23. 

"  I. — At  a  regimental  court-martial,  which  convened  at  Padu- 
cah,  Kentucky,  pursuant  to  order  of  November  27,  1861,  from 
W.  L.  Sanderson,  colonel  commanding  the  Twenty-third  Eegi- 
ment  of  Indiana  United  States  Volunteers,  and  of  which  Cap- 
tain D.  G.  Ka}^  of  Company  C  of  the  same  regiment,  is  presi- 
dent, was  arraigned  and  tried  Private  Thomas  L.  Wooldridge, 
of  Company  K,  Twenty-third  Indiana  Eegiment,  on  the  follow- 
ing charges  and  specifications : 

"  Charges. — 'Absent  from  his  quarters  at  night  without  leave 
from  his  superior  oflScers.'  'Abusive  and  threatening  language 
towards  superior  officers.'    '  Drunkenness.'    '  Stealing  chickens.' 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      241 

'Running  away  from  camp  when  detailed  for  duty.'  'Declaring 
that  he  did  not  mean  to  do  duty,  but  would  be  about  pay-day 
to  receive  hi8  pay.' 

"  Specifications. — '  Said  Wooldridge  absented  himself  from  his 
quarters  on  the  night  of  November  25,  1861,  without  the  con- 
sent of  his  superior  officers,  contrar}'-  to  Article  42  of  the  Arti- 
cles of  War.  Not  long  since — time  not  definitely  known — he 
threatened  to  kill  his  superior  officers  the  first  opportunity  he 
could  get,  and  at  the  same  time  used  abusive  and  disrespectful 
language  in  regard  to  them.  On  the  night  of  Monday,  Novem- 
ber 5,  he  came  into  his  quarters  in  a  state  of  beastly  intoxica- 
tion, and  made  himself  veiy  disagreeable  to  the  whole  camp. 
On  the  morning  of  the  25th  of  November  he  was  detailed  for 
guard  duty  at  roll-call  in  the  morning ;  but  as  soon  as  he  got 
his  breakfast  he  went  out  of  camp,  and  a  file  of  men  hunted 
him  all  day  without  being  able  to  find  him.  He  has  not  done 
one  day's  duty  in  a  month,  and  he  has  declared  he  would  not 
do  duty,  but  would  take  good  care  to  be  present  on  pay-day. 
About  four  weeks  ago,  as  near  as  can  be  remembered,  in  con- 
nection with  some  others,  he  stole  from  one  Mr.  Schafer,  of 
Paducah,  one  dozen  chickens,  which  he  sold  in  town,  four  of 
them  to  a  negro  belonging  to  a  Mrs.  Petty,  living  on  Market 
Street  in  said  city ;  the  remaining  eight  to  a  man  named  Mc- 
Coy, living  in  the  lower  part  of  said  city.' 

"  To  which  charges  and  specifications  the  accused  pleaded 
as  follows :  Guilty  of  absenting  himself  from  camp  without 
leave.  Guilty  of  stealing  chickens.  Not  guilty  of  being  drunk 
on  the  time  specified.  Guilty  of  leaving  camp  when  he  was 
detailed  for  duty. 

"  The  court  having  fully  advised  itself  in  the  premises,  find 
the  said  Thomas  L.  Wooldridge  guilty  of  the  charges  specified 
(in  full);  and,  therefore,  we,  the  court,  do  adjudge  and  affix  the 
penalty  as  follows  :  1st.  That  all  his  pay  be  retained,  and  that 
it  be  applied  to  the  regimental  fund.  2d.  That  one-half  of  his 
face  and  head  be  shaved  closely.  3d.  That  he  be  drummed  out 
of  the  service  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  to  the  tune  of  the 
Rogue's  March,  bare  feet  and  head,  and  without  coat. 

"  II. — These  proceedings  are  in  almost  every  sense  irregular, 

16 


242         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

and  show  on  the  part  of  the  court  a  total  ignorance  or  neglect 
of  its  duty.  There  ai'e  no  less  than  six  charges  with  but  a 
single  specification  applying  to  them  all.  These  charges  and 
specifications  should  have  been  reformed  by  the  judge-advocate 
before  the  trial.  The  sentence  is  most  extraordinary,  and  in 
direct  violation  of  the  67th  Article  of  War,  limiting  the  powers 
of  regimental  courts.  It  is  therefore  disapproved.  The  pris- 
oner, however,  having  acknowledged  in  open  court  that  he  was 
guilty  of  disgraceful  conduct,  it  is  directed,  under  the  authority 
conferred  by  the  11th  Article  of  War,  that  he  be  dishonorably 
discharged  from  the  service  of  the  United  States. 

"III. — The  attention  of  the  commanding  general  has  been 
called  to  the  character  of  proceedings  of  courts-martial  generally 
in  this  department ;  many  of  them  are  disgraceful  to  the  officers 
composing  the  courts,  as  exhibiting  on  their  part  an  utter  igno- 
rance or  disregard  of  the  Eules  and  Articles  of  War  and  of  the 
army  regulations.  It  will  be  useless  to  assemble  courts  for 
the  trial  of  prisoners  unless  greater  attention  be  given  to  this 
matter;  for  no  reviewing  officer,  no  matter  how  desirous  to 
promote  discipline  by  punishing  the  guilty,  can  confirm  such 
proceedings. 

"  By  order  of  Major-General  Halleck. 

"  Jno.  C.  Kelton, 
^'■Assistant  Adjutant-General.'" 

When  General  Halleck  was  relieved  of  command  he 
had  won  no  laurels ;  he  had  won  the  confidence  of  the 
people  and  officers  of  the  government  as  an  organizer 
of  armies  and  a  superior  strategist,  and  hence  was  as- 
signed the  command  of  the  armies  and  ordered  to 
Washington.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  people  ran 
wholly  towards  those  officers  who  commanded  in  the 
field  and  won  victories. 

General  Schofield,  before  or  soon  after  his  assignment 
to  the  command  of  the  department,  had  been  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  major-general  of  volunteers,  and  his  ap- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      243 

pointment  had  stood  unconfirmed  for  more  than  a  year, 
and  by  an  arrangement  with  the  President  of  the  United 
States  he  was  removed  from  this  command  and  assigned 
to  the  command  of  a  division  in  the  field  to  enable 
him  to  win  his  stars,  which  he  assured  the  President 
he  could  do  if  he  would  but  give  him  a  command  in  the 
field,  and  which  he  accomplished  early  after  assuming 
such  command. 

Kosecrans  succeeded  him,  and  the  lustre  of  his  stars 
was  dimmed  rather  than  brightened  by  the  laborious 
and  difficult  command  of  this  tumultuous  department. 

Of  General  Dodge,  who  succeeded  Kosecrans,  it  is 
proper  to  say  that  he  neither  lost  nor  gained  reputation 
while  in  this  wretched  command.  No  future  officers 
nor  future  age  can  have  the  least  proper  conception  of 
the  labors,  difficulties,  and  trials  of  the  department  and 
district  commanders  of  the  Department  of  the  Mis- 
souri, and  the  historian  who  writes  after  the  generation 
which  precipitated  and  conducted  that  struggle  has 
passed  away,  and  all  the  animosities  engendered  by  the 
strife  have  passed  away  with  them,  will  alone  be  able 
to  point  out  accurately  what  steps  were  right  and  what 
were  wrong  during  that  dismal  and  destructive  strife. 

My  command  of  the  Southwest  District  of  Missouri 
commenced  about  the  20th  of  October,  1863.  The 
district  extended  over  a  territory  approximately  two 
hundred  miles  square.  It  seemed  at  the  time  I  as- 
sumed command  that  there  was  scarcely  a  township 
in  which  there  was  not  a  squad  of  bushwhackers  or 
Confederate  soldiers  "  carrying  on  war,"  as  they  termed 
it,  in  violation  of  all  the  rules  of  civilized  warfare.  At 
the  time  of  my  assumption   of  command  the  parties 


244         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

bearing  despatches  were  off  in  various  directions,^^ — one, 
composed  of  five  soldiers,  bearing  despatches  to  Cass- 
ville,  a  town  fifty-five  miles  southwest  of  S2:>ringfield  ;  on 
their  return  to  Springfield,  three  days  afterwards,  they 
were  captured  by  a  body  of  eight  bushwhackers  near 
the  place  where  the  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek  was  fought, 
and  all  hung  to  the  limb  of  a  tree,  with  the  exception 
of  one,  a  boy  among  them,  who  was  but  fifteen  years 
of  age.  The  leader  of  this  gang  wrote  me  a  note,  which 
I  retained  for  a  long  time,  but  have  now  lost,  in  which 
he  stated  in  substance  that  he  had  learned  I  had  re- 
cently come  to  that  section  of  country  from  the  Army 
of  the  Tennessee ;  that  he  supposed  I  was  not  accus- 
tomed to  the  manner  in  which  war  was  carried  on  in 
this  section.  "  You  may  as  well  understand,  first  as 
last,  that  we  will  not  give  any  quarter,  and  we  ask  no 
quarter  from  you ;  if  we  capture  you  we  will  put  you 
to  death  at  once,  and  you  have  the  j^i'ivilege  to  do  the 
same  by  us ;  we  will  not  carry  on  war  in  any  other 
way." 

This  was  my  first  experience  in  that  kind  of  warfare. 
Of  course  wrath  and  indignation  were  aroused.  It  was 
dark  when  this  boy  arrived  at  my  headquarters  with 
the  despatch.  He  answered  all  questions  in  regard  to 
the  appearance  of  these  parties,  gave  their  number  and 
the  name  of  one  or  two  who  had  been  citizens  in  that 
section  of  the  country  before  the  war.  An  aide-de- 
camp was  sent  at  once  to  the  camp  for  one  of  the 
cavalry  regiments,  with  orders  for  the  colonel  to  detail 
a  detachment  of  four  companies,  under  the  command 
of  the  major,  to  report  forthwith  with  three  days' 
rations  and  fortv  rounds  of  ammunition  each  to  head- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      245 

quarters.  The  major  received  his  orders,  which  were 
in  effect  to  pursue  and  capture  this  party  and  bring 
them  to  Springfield,  and  he  left  within  an  hour  from  the 
time  the  boy  had  brought  me  this  despatch.  This  de- 
tachment came  back  and  reported  at  the  expiration  of 
four  days  or  less  (the  precise  time  I  do  not  remember), 
but  at  the  time  it  reported  only  one  of  the  party  of 
eight  bushwhackers  was  living. 

But  all  my  subsequent  experience  demonstrated  that 
the  statement  made  by  the  commander  of  this  bush- 
whacking party  was  true,  and  that  there  was  no  possi- 
bility of  carrying  on  the  war  in  that  section  of  country 
in  any  other  way  than  by  the  absolute  destruction  of 
the  entire  Confederate  force.  The  destruction  and  suf- 
fering that  this  method  of  warfare  occasioned  is  in- 
describable. Property  was  destroyed  without  limit. 
During  one  week  a  Confederate  force  would  pass 
through  the  country  for  a  hundred  miles  or  more,  and 
burn  the  houses  and  destroy  the  property  of  every  loyal 
man,  and  before  my  arrival  the  Federal  forces  would 
soon  go  over  the  same  section  of  country  and  destroy 
the  houses  and  property  of  all  the  disloyal. 

The  result  was  that  the  population  of  the  tier  of 
counties  bordering  upon  the  State  of  Kansas,  namely, 
McDonald,  Newton,  Jasper,  Barton,  and  Mount  Ver- 
non, each  of  which,  according  to  the  census  of  1860, 
contained  from  five  thousand  to  eight  thousand  ^eo- 
ple,  was  reduced  by  the  autumn  of  1864  to  less  than 
three  hundred  in  any  county,  and  in  two  or  three  of 
the  counties  there  were  not  one  hundred  residents  left. 
Women  were  left  without  shelter,  children  of  tender 
years,  from  four  to  eight  years  old,  were  frequently 


246         GLIMPSES   OF  TEE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

found  in  the  roads  or  crying  in  the  forests,  with  no 
grown  people  near  them,  and  were  brought  into  Spring- 
field by  the  troops,  till  a  society  of  the  ladies  there  had 
gathered  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  who  knew  nothing 
about  their  parentage  or  names  or  homes. 

All  the  dead  Federal  soldiers  or  Union  citizens  that 
fell  into  the  hands  of  these  bands  were  mutilated  in 
the  most  horrible  manner  in  every  instance.  Hands 
were  cut  off,  tongues  cut  out,  ears  were  cut  off,  and 
nameless  parts  of  the  body  mutilated ;  citizens  and  sol- 
diers captured  were  hung,  shot,  stoned  to  death,  and  sub- 
jected to  indignities  worse  than  death.  There  seemed 
no  way  to  remedy  this  state  of  affairs  but  by  the  most 
vigorous  and  determined  prosecution  of  the  war  in  the 
manner  designated  by  the  bushwhacker  who  sent  me 
the  first  communication. 

It  was  determined  at  the  commencement  of  the  year 
1865  to  put  an  end  to  this  condition  of  things  by  or- 
dering and  compelling  all  disloyal  persons  of  every 
grade  and  class  to  leave  the  country,  and  if  they  would 
not  so  in  obedience  to  the  orders,  to  take  them  out  by ' 
force  and  ship  them  below  the  Arkansas  Kiver.  So  I 
find  that  General  Order  No.  1,  dated  January  1,  1865, 
recites  among  other  things  that  "The  persons  here- 
inafter named  have  fed,  harbored,  and  favored  these 
roving  murderous  bands,  and  have  thereby  become 
accessory  to  all  their  lawless  deeds,  and  that  to  termi- 
nate this  unhappy,  unnatural,  and  ruinous  condition  of 
society,  it  has  become  necessary  to  remove  the  follow- 
ing-named persons  from  this  district,"  and  then  follow 
the  names  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  married 
women,  the  heads  of  families,  who  are  ordered  to  re- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      247 

move  from  the  district  to  some  point  "  at  least  fifty- 
miles  beyond  its  limits  on  or  before  the  10th  day  of 
February  next." 

The  feeling  of  hostility  had  increased  to  such  a 
point  that  in  one  single  instance  at  least,  if  official 
reports  were  true,  a  Union  woman,  the  mother  of  a 
family,  who  was  ploughing  in  the  field,  all  the  males 
of  the  family  having  gone  off  to  the  war,  was  shot 
down  by  these  bushwhackers  in  the  spring  of  1864; 
and  the  Federal  troops  were  hunting  them  and  destroy- 
ing them  in  the  same  manner  as  they  hunted  and 
destroyed  wild  beasts.  They  had  been  declared  in 
general  orders  to  be  enemies  of  the  human  race,  and  it 
was  understood  throughout  the  army  operating  in  that 
section  of  the  country  that  it  was  lawful  to  destroy  any 
of  these  persons  as  a  necessity  to  the  restoration  of  order. 
They  were  driven  into  rivers  and  shot  in  crossing ;  and 
driven  in  one  instance,  at  least,  into  a  cave,  and  smoked 
out  as  wild  beasts,  and  shot  as  they  came  out. 

After  these  vigorous  measures  and  those  adopted  in 
the  winter  of  1865,  order  was  quite  generally  restored, 
although  the  military  power  was  the  only  authority  and 
the  only  power  known  in  that  section  of  the  country. 
So  timid  had  the  people  become  that  they  neither  de- 
sired nor  were  they  willing  to  recognize  any  other  gov- 
ernment. The  remark  was  often  made  by  the  old 
citizens  who  were  left  living  that  it  was  the  best  gov- 
ernment and  the  best  condition  of  things  that  they  ever 
had,  and  they  should  be  glad  if  no  change  was  ever 
required  to  be  made.  It  verified  the  saying  that  in 
their  estimation  that  government  is  best  which  is  best 
administered. 


248         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

There  was  one  feature  connected  with  the  carrying 
on  of  the  war  against  these  lawless  bands  which  was 
peculiar :  it  was  found  by  experiment  that  they  would 
sustain  about  tlie  same  proportion  of  loss  before  aban- 
doning a  country  or  section  which  they  infested  that 
a  line  of  battle  will  sustain  when  engaged  in  actual 
combat.  Ten  per  cent,  of  the  number  reported  to  be 
infesting  any  county  would  be  killed,  and  no  impres- 
sion seemed  to  be  made.  This  would  be  so  when 
twenty  per  cent.,  upon  our  best  estimates,  had  been 
killed,  and  sometimes  they  would  show  very  little  trepi- 
dation at  thirty  per  cent. ;  but  whenever,  from  the  in- 
formation received,  their  losses  had  reached  forty  per 
cent,  of  their  entire  number,  it  was  almost  universally 
the  result  that  the  remaining  portion  would  depart  from 
that  country  and  no  more  trouble  from  them  occur 
therein. 

The  losses  of  the  parties  carrying  on  the  war  this 
way  were  enormous.  According  to  the  official  reports, 
during  the  time  I  remained  in  command  they  had  lost 
more  than  four  thousand  men  killed.  The  loss  to  the 
Federals  was  less  tlian  five  hundred.  But  the  conflict 
was  weekly ;  it  seems  upon  reflection  to  have  been 
almost  daily ;  sometimes  it  was  between  parties  of  five, 
ten,  or  twenty  on  a  side ;  sometimes  between  parties 
that  would  number  one  hundred  or  more.  In  one  or 
two  instances  the  entire  party  of  Federals  engaged  were 
killed,  with  the  exception  of  a  single  man.  In  several 
instances  the  entire  force  of  the  Confederates,  number- 
ing in  one  instance,  as  I  recollect,  about  fifty  men,  were 
all  killed  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two.  Sometimes 
there  were  results  that  would  make  a  person  feel  super- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      249 

stitious,  that  were  sometimes  favorable  to  the  Federals 
and  sometimes  to  the  Confederates.  On  one  occasion  a 
party  of  despatch-bearers  under  a  lieutenant,  number- 
ing twenty-five  men,  were  attacked  near  Yellville, 
Arkansas,  and  the  entire  party  killed  with  the  excep- 
tion of  one  man. 

Late  in  the  war,  under  the  general  orders  from  head- 
quarters of  the  district,  which  required  all  parties  coming 
upon  the  trail  of  bushwhackers  to  immediately  pursue, 
and  if  they  deemed  their  force  inadequate,  to  commu- 
nicate at  once  with  headquarters,  by  telegraph  if  pos- 
sible, if  not  by  messenger,  asking  for  reinforcements,  a 
party  composed  of  a  lieutenant  and  five  men  pursued  a 
baud  of  bushwhackers  composed  of  a  captain  and  eleven 
men.  As  they  came  in  sight  of  them  they  were  across 
the  Pomme  de  Terre  Eiver,  then  raised  by  a  freshet  to 
full  banks,  drawn  up  in  line.  The  lieutenant  and  five 
men  rode  directly  forward  and  directly  into  the  stream, 
swimming  their  horses  under  a  fire  from  the  entire 
twelve  bushwhackers,  and,  reaching  the  other  shore, 
killed  five  of  the  men  and  captured  their  leader,  who 
had  a  scalp  wound,  and  captured  six  horses,  twelve 
Colt's  revolvers,  and  five  repeating  rifles,  and  brought 
all  safely  to  Springfield.  Neither  the  lieutenant  nor 
any  man  lost  a  drop  of  blood,  while  the  clothes  of  each 
one  were  pierced  by  from  one  to  four  bullets.  The 
balance  of  the  party  was  captured  the  same  day  a  few 
miles  farther  on.  Upon  the  communication  of  this 
result  to  the  headquarters  of  the  department,  orders 
came  back  immediately  to  distribute  the  trophies 
equally  among  the  men  engaged  in  the  capture,  which 
was  done. 


250         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

The  captain,  whose  name  was  Brownlee,  had  been 
tried  by  a  military  commission  in  the  first  year  of  tlie 
war,  sentenced  to  death,  and  his  sentence  had  been 
approved  by  the  President  of  the  United  States.  It 
was  at  once  ordered  from  the  department  headquarters 
that  the  sentence  be  carried  into  effect,  and  this  was 
one  of  the  most  trying  and  sad  duties  that  I  ever  had 
to  perform.  He  was  a  bright  young  man,  a  lawyer 
when  the  war  commenced,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania 
and  a  graduate  of  her  institutions  of  learning,  and 
seemed  completely  broken  down  when  he  found  that 
the  sentence  he  was  under  would  be  executed;  but, 
being  a  subordinate,  I  could  not  even  suggest  a  modifi- 
cation of  the  sentence  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  always  scrutinized  in  person 
all  sentences  of  this  kind,  modified  them  in  the  first 
instance  if  they  were  to  be  modified  at  all. 

Comparative  order  and  peace  had  been  restored  in 
the  Southwest  in  the  spring  of  1865.  The  farmers 
ploughed  and  planted  as  they  did  before  the  war,  and 
the  country  was  infested  less  with  roving  bands  than  it 
had  been  after  1861,  and  a  feeling  of  confidence  seemed 
to  prevail  among  all  classes.  At  last  news  of  the  sur- 
render of  the  rebel  armies  at  Richmond  came,  and  the 
rejoicing  of  all  classes  was  inexpressible.  The  long 
night  of  chaos  through  which  this  section  had  passed 
was  coming  to  a  close,  the  morning  of  the  day  of  peace 
at  last  dawned,  and  again  for  these  people  "  the  morn- 
ing stars  sang  together,"  and  all  the  sons  of  liberty 
rejoiced. 

But  the  work  of  restoration — and  it  was  a  great 
work — remained  to  be  performed.     Nothing  but  mar- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN      251 

tial  law  had  been  known  in  this  section  of  country  for 
nearly  three  years.  The  provost-marshals  had  even 
collected  debts  and  remitted  the  money,  exercising 
nearly  all  the  functions  of  the  civil  tribunals.  No 
magistrate  dared  to  issue  process,  no  peace  officer  dared 
to  execute  the  process  if  once  issued,  and  the  question 
now  for  consideration  was  what  steps  to  take  to  restore 
civil  government,  and  to  induce  these  people  to  take  the 
affairs  of  government  into  their  own  hands.  On  the 
8th  day  of  May,  1865,  I  issued  the  following  order 
from  the  headquarters  of  the  district : 

"  General  Orders  No.  35. 

"I. — The  progress  and  success  of  the  national  arms  for  the 
last  ninety  days  has  been  such  as  to  modify  and  reduce  the 
conflict  in  which  we  have  been  engaged  from  one  of  vast  pro- 
portions, as  between  two  independent  and  contending  powers, 
to  a  simple  effort  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  establish 
order,  restore  the  functions  of  the  civil  law,  and  fully  protect 
the  I'ights  of  persons  and  property,  in  which  effort  it  does,  and 
for  some  time  probably  will,  in  this  section,  meet  the  resistance 
of  many  disloyal  and  disorderly  persons,  banded  together  as 
robbers  and  murderers,  as  well  as  an  opposition  more  difficult 
to  control  and  overcome, — of  strong  passions,  and  the  most 
bitter  animosities,  engendered  by,  and  a  most  legitimate  out- 
growth of,  the  Eebellion. 

'<  II. — It  is  therefore  specially  ordered  and  enjoined  upon  all 
officers  and  soldiers  in  the  service,  and  all  citizens  are  requested 
to  abstain  from  all  exciting  and  heated  discussions  upon  ques- 
tions that  have  been  settled  by  the  war,  and  from  all  epithets, 
thi-eats,  and  language  which  tend  to  excite  passion  and  ill- 
feeling,  and  each  do  all  in  his  power  to  promote  peace,  confi- 
dence, and  good  feelings  between  all  members  of  society,  and 
between  citizens  and  soldiers. 

"HI. — That  the  functions  of  the  civil  courts  and  officers  may 
be  fully  restored  at  the  earliest  possible  day  it  is  ordered  that 


252         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

the  provost-marshal  and  assistant  provost-marshals  on  duty  in 
this  district  shall  not  hear  nor  determine  any  more  cases  or 
questions  in  regard  to  the  ownership  or  right  of  possession  of 
any  property,  real,  personal,  or  mixed,  except  cases  where  the 
government  of  the  United  States  is  an  interested  party,  or 
where  property  has  been  stolen  ;  but  all  such  cases  will  be  left 
to  the  civil  courts,  to  be  heard  and  determined  in  the  same 
manner  as  if  there  was  no  military  occupation  of  the  coun- 
try. 

''  lY. — All  cases  of  crimes  and  misdemeanors  alleged  to  have 
been  committed  by  any  citizen,  coming  to  the  knowledge  of 
any  provost-marshal  or  assistant  provost-marshals  or  other 
military  officer  in  this  district,  will  be  reported  by  such  provost- 
marshal  or  officer  to  the  sheriff  of  the  county  in  which  such 
offence  is  committed,  and  also  to  the  nearest  judge  or  justice 
of  the  peace ;  and  if  such  sheriff,  justice  of  the  peace,  or  judge 
does  not  proceed  with  the  arrest,  investigation,  and  trial  of 
said  party  or  parties  within  ten  days  thereafter,  the  names  of 
such  sheriff,  justice  of  the  peace,  or  judge  will  be  sent  to  these 
headquarters,  to  be  forwarded  to  the  governor  of  the  State, 
with  a  notice  of  their  delinquency ;  and  in  such  case  the  pro- 
vost-marshal will  cause  such  party  or  parties  to  be  arrested,  if 
not  already  in  arrest,  and  will  investigate  the  case,  and  if  suffi- 
cient evidence  exist,  hold  the  party  or  parties  for  trial  before  a 
military  commission  in  the  same  manner  as  heretofore.  In 
those  counties  where  the  county  government  is  not  organized 
the  same  proceedings  will  be  had  hereafter  as  before  this 
order. 

'<  V. — Commanders  of  regiments,  detachments,  and  posts,  in 
this  district,  are  authorized  and  directed  to  furnish  the  sheriff 
of  any  county  a  detachment  of  troops  sufficient  to  enable  him 
to  execute  any  capias,  or  other  criminal  process,  within  this 
district.  These  detachments  will  be  furnished  whenever  appli- 
cation is  made  by  any  sheriff  who  exhibits  the  process  that  he 
is  directed  to  serve,  and  also  a  certificate  of  the  justice  of  the 
peace  or  judge  issuing  the  same  that  he  believes  a  detachment 
of  troops  necessary  to  enable  the  sheriff  to  execute  said  pro- 
cess. 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      253 

"Vr. — As  the  jails  in  many  counties  have  been  destroyed 
daring  the  war,  it  is  recommended  that  the  county  court,  or 
other  proper  authority,  of  Greene  County  fix  upon  a  rate  of 
compensation  that  will  be  charged,  per  da}'  or  week,  by  said 
county  for  boarding  criminals.  In  counties  where  no  suitable 
jails  are  provided,  prisoners  shall  be  confined  in  the  jail  of 
Greene  County.  And  it  is  most  earnestly  recommended  that 
all  judges,  justices  of  the  peace,  sheriff's,  and  all  civil  officers,  as 
well  as  citizens  generally,  make  every  eff'ort  and  use  all  means 
in  their  power  to  punish,  speedily  and  adequatel}^,  all  guilty  of 
crime,  that,  the  criminal  laws  of  the  State,  as  administered  in  and 
through  the  State  courts,  be  made  a  terror  to  evil-doers,  and  a 
praise  to  them  that  do  well,  instead  of  a  by-word  and  scoffing 
to  the  formei*,  and  a  shame  and  scandal  to  the  latter,  as  during 
the  last  two  years. 

•'  VII. — As  the  attempt  and  effort  to  intimidate,  by  threats, 
hostile  demonstrations,  or  otherwise,  the  judges,  jurors,  and 
other  members  of  courts,  justices  of  the  peace,  or  other  civil 
officers,  with  the  view  to  prevent  them  from  discharging  their 
duties  impartially,  constitutes  a  peculiarly  dangerous  and  hein- 
ous offence,  tending,  as  it  does,  to  subvert  entirely  the  civil 
government  and  substitute  a  despotism  in  its  place,  the  military 
authorities  will,  until  further  orders,  take  into  custody,  and 
manage,  try,  and  punish  all  persons  charged  with  this  crime; 
and  any  officer  upon  whom  any  such  attempt  is  made  will  re- 
port the  case  immediately  to  the  nearest  provost-marshal,  or  to 
these  headquarters. 

"  VIII. — It  is  respectfully  requested  of  the  citizens  of  the 
city  of  Springfield  that  the}^  organize  the  municipal  govern- 
ment of  the  city  without  unnecessary  delay.  To  this  end,  John 
S.  Bigley,  Esq.,  justice  of  the  peace,  is  requested  to  issue  his 
warrant,  or  notice,  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  the  city  char- 
ter, designating  the  third  Tuesday  of  May,  1865,  as  the  day 
upon  which  an  election  will  be  held  for  all  municipal  officers 
authorized  to  be  elected  by  the  city  charter.  When  such  gov- 
ernment is  organized  the  provost  guard  will  enforce  ail  military 
orders  in  regard  to  soldiers  in  the  city,  and  will  aid  the  mar- 
shal, at  any  time,  when  called  upon,  to  enforce  any  ordinance 


254         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

or  laws  of  the  city  government,  as  well  as  to  make  all  ar- 
rests. 

"  By  order  of  Brigadier-General  John  B.  Sanborn. 
"William  T.  Kittredge, 

"  Ass't.  Adjutant-  General." 

Under  this  order  the  officers  of  the  county  and  city 
immediately  commenced  to  exercise  their  functions, 
protected  by  the  military  forces  about  the  city,  and 
but  a  short  time  elapsed  before  the  functions  of  the 
city,  county,  and  State  government  were  fully  restored. 

During  the  entire  period  of  my  command  in  Spring- 
field it  was  customary  to  send  all  orders,  as  a  matter  of 
courtesy,  to  the  governor  of  the  State.  I  received  a  letter 
from  the  governor,  of  date  the  1st  day  of  June,  1865, 
in  relation  to  General  Orders  No.  35,  as  follows : 

"State  of  Missouri,  Executive  Department, 
"City  of  Jefferson,  June  1,  1865. 
"  General, — I  have  been  for  some  days  intending  to  write 
you,  expressing   my  thanks  to  you    for  the   appropriateness, 
timeliness,  and  perspicuity  of  your  General  Orders  No.  35.    The 
disruption  of  society  and  the  general  demoralization  of  civil 
affairs  caused  by  the  Eebellion  in  every  Southern  State,  but 
most  especially  in  Missouri,  have  rendered  the  restoration  of 
the  civil  law  a  task  the  severity  and  onerousness  of  which  can 
only  be  appreciated  by  those  who  have  to  contribute  towards 
its  performance,  as  you  have  done  and  are  doing.     The  order  is 
most  admirably  conceived,  clearly  expressed,  and  has  through- 
out the  right  tone,  and  in  it  I  recognize  and  gratefully  acknowl- 
ed<'-e  the  most  effective  assistance  I  have  yet  received  towards 
the  reinstatement  of  order  in  Missouri.     Eest  assured  that  when 
peace  and  the  arts  of  industry  shall  once  more  have  assumed 
their  legitimate  sway  in  the  State  for  which  you  have  done  so 
much  to  save,  your  name  will  be  cherished  with  increasing  rev- 
erence as  our  prosperity  flows  along  in  an  uninterrupted  tide. 
"  I  am,  general,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

"Thomas  C.  Fletcher." 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.       255 

General  Orders  No.  35  was  the  last  order  issued  by 
me  to  my  command  in  Missouri.  The  prisoners  of 
war  that  surrendered  at  that  point  numbered  about  ten 
thousand,  and  were  paroled  under  the  direction  of  our 
companion,  W.  W.  Braden.  Orders  were  received  by 
me  to  proceed  at  once  to  St.  Louis  to  take  command  of 
a  force  that  was  to  operate  against  the  Indians  of  the 
Southwest ;  and  on  the  12th  of  July  following  I  find 
myself  in  command  of  the  District  of  the  Upper  Ar- 
kansas, organizing  a  command  with  which  to  move 
against  the  Comanche,  Kiowa,  Cheyenne,  and  Arrapa- 
hoe  Indians,  and  the  Apaches  of  the  Upper  Arkansas. 

At  this  date,  looking  over  the  general  orders  issued 
to  the  troops  on  July  20,  when  about  to  move  against 
the  Indians,  I  am  amused  at  the  reference  made  therein 
to  civilized  warfare.  The  first  words  of  the  general 
order  are  as  follows : 

"All  troops  will  observe  and  closely  adhere  to  the  rules  of 
civilized  warfare,  and  not  allow  themselves  to  become  barba- 
rians because  they  are  fighting  barbarians.  No  women,  chil- 
dren, or  non-combatants  will  be  killed  or  injured,  nor  any 
Indian  who  duly  surrenders  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  unless  it 
should  happen  in  the  casualties  of  battle.  All  hostile  Indians 
of  both  sexes  and  all  ages  will  be  captured  and  brought  to 
headquarters,  whenever  and  wherever  possible,  and  prisoners 
will  be  fed  and  clothed  by  the  government." 

This  seems  to  be  the  first  time  in  two  years  that  I 
had  been  able  to  make  any  reference  to  the  rules  of 
civilized  warfare ;  and  when  it  is  considered  that  I  had 
been  fighting  our  own  people,  a  civilized,  educated,  and 
Christianized  race,  and  had  gone  from  that  sort  of  a 
field  to  carry  on  war  against  the  Comanche  and  other 


256         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

Indians,  it  seems  passing  strange  that  I  was  induced 
thoughtlessly  to  refer  to  the  rules  of  civilized  warfare, 
and  for  the  first  time  in  almost  two  years  order  that 
they  be  adhered  to  and  rigidly  enforced. 

If  there  is  anything  of  value  to  a  future  age  to  be 
learned  from  the  events  of  the  civil  war  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Missouri,  and  more  especially  in  the  State 
of  Missouri,  it  is  that  there  exist  in  the  breasts  of  the 
peo]3le  of  educated  and  Christian  communities  wild  and 
ferocious  passions,  which  in  a  day  of  peace  are  dormant 
and  slumbering,  but  which  may  be  aroused  and  kindled 
by  civil  disturbance,  war,  and  injustice,  and  become 
more  cruel  and  destructive  than  any  that  live  in  the 
breasts  of  savage  and  barbarous  nations.  That  there 
is  an  element  of  justice  implanted  in  the  bosoms  of  all 
men  which  revolts  at  injustice  and  cruelty,  and  in  our 
age  will  not  tolerate  the  putting  to  death  of  innocent 
men  for  the  offence  of  another  man,  even  when  the 
offence  has  been  authorized  by  his  government  against 
a  citizen  of  a  government  with  which  it  is  carrying  on 
war,  where  it  may  with  propriety  be  looked  upon  and 
treated  as  the  act  of  an  hostile  nation ;  and  that  when 
innocent  men  are  put  to  death  for  the  lawless  and  cruel 
act  of  another  individual  which  no  government  au- 
thorized or  approved,  then  every  natural  principle  of 
humanity  and  justice  is  violated,  and  human  nature 
itself  rises  in  open  opposition  to  such  an  exercise  of 
tyranny ;  and  that  such  acts  are  and  must  ever  be  the 
prelude  to  anarchy  and  the  direct  introduction  of  the 
reign  of  chaos ;  and  that  above  the  confusion,  tumult, 
and  din  of  disorganized  and  contending  communities, 
rent  with  civil  feuds  and  drenched  with  fraternal  blood, 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.         257 

may  always  be  heard  the  voice  of  divine  wisdom  speak- 
ing into  the  ears  of  all  magistrates,  rulers,  and  officers 
clothed  with  authority  over  their  fellow-men  those 
words  uttered  more  than  three  thousand  years  ago  by 
the  Rock  of  Israel  to  the  most  illustrious  ruler  of  that 
people,  "  He  that  ruleth  over  men  must  be  just,  ruling 
in  the  fear  of  God." 


17 


HOW  THE  DAY  WAS  SAVED 
AT  THE  BATTLE  OF  CEDAR  CREEK. 

BY  BVX.  BEIG.-GENBRAL  A.   BAYAED  NETTLETON, 

COLONEL   SECOND   OHIO   CAVALRY,    U.    S.    VOLUNTEERS. 


When,  in  1864,  witli  Grant  and  Meade  and  Sheri- 
dan in  the  East,  and  Sherman  and  Thomas  in  the 
West,  the  National  army  closed  with  the  Confederate, 
it  was  in  a  struggle  which  all  regarded  as  the  final  one. 
In  June,  after  Grant  with  all  his  available  force  had 
besieged  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  Lee,  feeling  secure 
behind  his  fortifications,  detached  an  army  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  picked  troops  under  General  Jubal  A. 
Early,  including  the  flower  of  his  Virginia  cavalry,  to 
invade  the  North  by  way  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley, 
threaten  Washington  from  the  rear,  and,  if  possible, 
compel  Grant  to  retreat  from  the  James,  as  McClellan 
had  been  forced  to  do  two  years  before.  Hunter's 
failure  at  Lynchburg  and  his  painful  retreat  through 
the  wilderness  of  West  Virginia  had  left  a  virtually 
open  road  for  Early's  force  to  the  boundary  of  Penn- 
sylvania, if  not  to  Washington,  and  this  open  road 
Early  was  not  slow  to  travel.  The  defeat  of  the  Union 
provisional  force  at  Monocacy,  the  appearance  of  the 
rebel  infantry  before  the  western  defences  of  the  na- 

258 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  A.  BAYARD  NETTLETON.     259 

tioiial  capital  on  the  1 2th  of  July,  and  the  subsequent 
burning  of  Charabersburg  by  Early's  cavalry,  under 
McCausland,  had  produced  a  very  considerable  civilian 
panic,  attracted  the  anxious  attention  of  the  whole 
country,  and  convinced  Grant,  before  Petersburg,  that 
decisive  measures  were  required  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  Potomac  if  he  was  to  retain  his  grip  on  the 
rebel  capital.  Accordingly,  two  small-sized  infantry 
corps  (Wright's  Sixth  and  Emory's  Nineteenth)  were 
despatched  to  Washington  via  Fortress  Monroe,  and 
were  soon  followed  by  two  divisions  (the  First  and 
Third)  of  the  already  famous  cavalry  corps  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  A  new  Middle  Department 
was  erected,  and  General  P.  H.  Sheridan,  as  its  com- 
mander, was  given  his  first  opportunity  to  earn  his 
spurs  in  control  of  a  separate  army  and  an  independent 
campaign. 

By  the  middle  of  August,  the  armies  of  Sheridan 
and  Early  confronted  each  other  in  the  valley  north 
of  Winchester.  Then  ensued  that  brilUant  campaign 
of  the  Shenandoah  which,  through  a  score  of  minor 
engagements,  resulted  in  the  thorough  defeat  of  Early's 
army  in  the  battle  of  Winchester,  or  the  Opequan, 
on  September  19,  followed  on  the  22d  by  its  disas- 
trous rout  at  Fisher's  Hill,  and  its  confused  retreat 
beyond  Staunton,  where  the  pursuit  was  discontinued. 
At  this  time  Sheridan  and  his  whole  victorious  army 
considered  the  enemy  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  as 
thoroughly  and  permanently  broken,  dispirited,  and 
disposed  of.  The  question  asked  about  our  camp-fires 
was,  Where  shall  we  be  sent  next?  Our  success  in 
the  valley,  coupled  with  Sherman's  victories   in   the 


260         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

West,  had  lighted  up  the  whole  horizon  and  given 
the  nation  the  first  real  glimpse  of  its  final  triumph 
and  the  coming  peace.  But  such  troops  as  Sheri- 
dan could  spare  were  needed  before  Richmond,  and 
our  army  began  falling  back  towards  the  Potomac, 
preparatory  to  such  a  transfer.  During  our  return 
march  the  rear  of  our  several  columns  was  persistently 
harassed  by  a  large  force  of  surprisingly  active  cavalry, 
under  General  T.  L.  Rosser,  who  provokingly  refused 
to  consider  himself  or  his  command  as  Jwrs  de  combat. 
Among  many  memories  of  hard  service,  those  who 
were  among  Custer's  troopers  in  the  valley  will  not 
soon  forget  their  arduous  task  of  protecting  the  rear  of 
a  victorious  army  against  the  onslaughts  of  the  crushed 
enemy's  horsemen. 

After  several  days  of  this  annoyance,  and  on  the 
night  of  October  8,  near  Fisher's  Hill,  Sheridan  no- 
tified General  Torbert,  chief  of  cavalry,  that  he  would 
halt  the  army  there  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  that  on 
the  following  day  he  (Torbert)  must  face  about  and 
"  whip  the  enemy  or  get  whipped  himself"  Rosser's 
saucy  cavalry  numbered  about  three  thousand  effectives, 
and  was  supported  by  some  fifteen  hundred  infantry 
and  two  batteries,  under  Generals  Lomax  and  Bradley 
Johnson.  With  Merritt's  First  Division  deployed  to 
the  right  of  the  valley  pike,  and  Custer's  Third  extend- 
ing from  Merritt's  right  westward,  across  the  back  road, 
towards  the  North  Mountain,  the  bugles  sounded  the 
advance  early  on  the  morning  of  the  ninth.  The  two 
lines  of  battle  met  at  Tom's  Creek,  and  one  of  the  most 
spirited  cavalry  engagements  of  the  war  speedily  ended 
in  the  capture  of  eleven  Confederate  cannon,  being  all 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  A.  BAYARD  NETTLETON.     261 

the  enemy's  artillery  save  one  piece,  and  a  galloping 
pursuit  of  the  defeated  force,  continuing  twenty  miles 
beyond  the  battle-field.  The  army  then  resumed  its 
northward  march  unmolested,  and  crossed  to  the  north 
side  of  Cedar  Creek,  where  it  faced  about  towards  the 
hypothetical  enemy,  and  went  into  camp,  the  centre  of 
the  infantry  resting  on  the  valley  pike.  The  Sixth 
Corps  continued  on  to  Front  Royal,  on  its  way  to  join 
Grant  at  Petersburg.  The  three  cavalry  divisions  took 
their  positions  as  follows :  Merritt's  on  the  left  (east) 
of  the  infantry,  picketing  the  line  of  the  North  Fork 
of  the  Shenandoah  River ;  Custer's  on  the  right  of  the 
infantry,  picketing  a  line  five  or  six  miles  in  length, 
and  extending  to  the  western  boundary  of  the  valley  ; 
Powell's  West  Virginia  Division  in  the  vicinity  of 
Front  Royal,  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  con- 
necting with  Merritt's  left. 

On  the  12th  our  scouts  reported  that  Early's  reor- 
ganized infantry  force  had  advanced  to  Fisher's  Hill, 
their  old  Gibraltar,  six  miles  south  of  our  position  at 
Cedar  Creek,  which  unexpected  intelligence  caused 
Sheridan  to  halt  the  Sixth  Corps  near  Front  Royal 
to  await  developments.  At  this  juncture  Lieutenant- 
General  Grant  recommended  that  a  part  of  Sheridan's 
force  should  establish  a  strong  position  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Manassas  Gap,  from  which  a  fresh  camj^aign 
against  Gordonsville  and  Charlottesville  could  be  exe- 
cuted. To  this  Sheridan  demurred,  and  on  the  13th  of 
October  he  was  summoned  to  Washington  by  Secre- 
tary Stanton  for  a  conference  about  future  operations. 
Having  decided  not  to  attack  Early  immediately  in  his 
strong  position  at  Fisher's  Hill,  and  having  no  appre- 


262         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

hension  of  his  taking  the  offensive,  Sheridan  started 
for  Washington  on  the  16th,  and  in  order  to  improve 
the  time  during  his  absence  he  took  the  bulk  of  the 
cavalry  force  with  him  to  Front  Royal,  designing  to 
send  it  on  a  raid  against  the  Virginia  Central  Kailroad 
at  Charlottesville.  General  H.  G.  Wright,  as  the  se- 
nior officer,  was  left  in  command  of  the  main  army, 
which  had  been  rejoined  by  the  Sixth  Corps.  On  ar- 
riving at  Front  Royal,  on  the  evening  of  the  16th, 
Sheridan  received  the  following  despatch  from  Wright : 

"Headquarters  Middle  Military  Division, 
"  October  16,  1864. 
"  Major-General  p.  H.  Sheridan, 

"Commanding  Middle  Military  Division. 
"  General, — I  enclose  you  despatch  which  explains  itself. 
(See  copy  following.)  If  the  enemy  should  be  strongly  rein- 
forced by  cavalry  he  might,  by  turning  our  right,  give  us  a 
great  deal  of  trouble.  I  shall  hold  on  here  until  the  enemy's 
movements  are  developed,  and  shall  only  fear  an  attack  on  my 
right,  which  I  shall  make  every  preparation  for  guarding 
against  and  resisting. 

"  Very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

"  H.  G.  Wright, 
"  Major-  General  Commanding." 

(Enclosure.) 
"  To  Lieutenant-General  Early, — Be  ready  to  move   as 
soon  as  my  forces  join  you,  and  we  will  crush  Sheridan. 

"  Longstreet, 
"  Lieutenant-General." 

This  despatch,  translated  by  our  signal-officers  from 
the  rebel  signal-flag  on  Three-Top  Mountain,  whether 
genuine  or  a  ruse,  seemed  to  betoken  activity  of  some 
sort  on  the   part  of  the  Confederates,     Sheridan  at- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  A.  BAYARD  NETTLETON.     263 

tached  to  it  sufficient  significance  to  induce  him  to 
abandon  the  raid  on  Charlottesviile  and  to  order  all 
the  cavalry  back  to  the  army  at  Cedar  Creek,  with  the 
following  message  to  General  Wright,  dated  the  even- 
ing of  the  16th : 

"  The  cavalry  is  all  ordered  back  to  you ;  make  your  position 
strong.  If  Longstreet's  despatch  is  true,  he  is  under  the  im- 
pression that  we  have  largely  detached,  I  will  go  over  to 
Augur,  and  may  get  additional  news.  Close  in  Colonel  Powell, 
who  will  be  at  this  point  (Front  Eoyal).  If  the  enemy  should 
•make  an  advance  I  know  you  will  defeat  him.  Look  well  to 
your  ground,  and  be  well  prepared.  Get  up  everything  that 
can  be  spared.  I  will  bring  up  all  I  can,  and  will  be  up  on 
Tuesday,  if  not  sooner." 

In  the  same  night,  after  having  thus  provided  for  the 
safety  of  his  army,  Sheridan  himself,  escorted  by  the 
Second  Ohio  Cavalry,  from  Custer's  division,  passed  on 
to  Piedmont,  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  whence  he  took 
cars  for  Washington. 

On  the  return  of  the  cavalry  to  the  army,  instead 
of  being  placed  in  its  former  position,  the  divisions  of 
Merritt  and  Custer,  aggregating  nearly  eight  thousand 
of  the  finest  mounted  troops  in  the  world,  were  both 
ordered  to  the  right  of  the  infiintry,  where  Wright  an- 
ticipated attack,  should  any  be  made,  while  Powell's 
division,  instead  of  being  "  closed  in,"  as  directed  in 
Sheridan's  last  message,  was  left  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Front  Royal,  near  the  eastern  margin  of  the  valley, 
its  attenuated  line  of  pickets  only  connecting  with  the 
left  of  the  infantry  along  the  river  front. 

It  was  no  longer  a  matter  of  indifference  where  the 
cavalry  was  placed.     For  the  first  time  during  the  war 


264         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

the  Federal  cavalry  was  really  raised  to  the  dignity  of 
a  third  arm  of  the  service,  and  given  its  full  share  in 
the  hard  fighting,  heavy  losses,  and  great  victories  under 
the  leadership  and  discipline  of  Sheridan.  With  their 
Spencer  repeating-carbines,  their  expertness  in  trans- 
forming themselves  on  occasion  from  troopers  to  foot 
soldiers,  not  infrequently  fighting  rebel  infantry  behind 
breastworks,  added  to  the  celerity  of  movement  and 
audacity  of  spirit,  without  which  cavalry  is  wellnigh 
useless,  Sheridan's  mounted  force  was  at  once  the  eye 
and  the  right  arm  of  his  fighting  column. 

Cedar  Creek,  flowing  from  the  west  and  north,  joins 
the  North  Fork  of  the  Shenandoah  near  Strasburg  on 
the  valley  j^ike.  About  the  same  point  the  North 
Fork  turns  sharply  eastward  towards  the  Blue  Ridge, 
the  two  streams  thus  forming  a  partial  line  of  defence 
nearly  across  the  valley.  In  the  bend  of  the  river 
rises  the  bold  front  of  Massanutten  Mountain,  the 
northern  extremity  of  a  subordinate  range  extending 
southward  from  this  point  parallel  to  the  Blue  Ridge, 
and  dividing  the  Shenandoah  Valley  lengthwise.  The 
valley  pike,  the  race-track  of  armies,  and  formerly  one 
of  the  noblest  highways  of  the  continent,  leads  south- 
ward to  Staunton  and  beyond,  and  northward  through 
Winchester  to  the  Potomac. 

After  the  ceaseless  activity,  watchfulness,  and  fight- 
ing of  the  valley  campaign,  then  considered  at  an  end, 
our  troops  found  the  quiet  of  camp-life  a  luxury  to  be 
appreciated.  Arrears  of  sleep  were  to  be  made  up, 
neglected  correspondence  revived,  wardrobes  renovated, 
and  toilets  attended  to.  Since  the  10th  of  October  this 
quiet  of  the  main  army  had  only   been  varied  and 


ADDRESS  BT  GENERAL  A.  BAYARD  NETTLETON.     2Q>b 

amused  by  the  invariable  daybreak  skirmish  between 
our  pickets  and  tlie  enemy's  scouting-parties;  the  usual 
grapevine  telegrams  announcing  the  wholesale  surren- 
der of  the  Confederacy  to  Grant ;  the  customary  pleas- 
antries at  the  expense  of  the  hundred-day  troops,  who 
were  so  eager  to  get  to  the  front  and  smell  powder 
before  their  term  expired ;  the  prevalent  wicked  offers 
to  bet  that  "  Old  Jubal"  was  still  on  the  retreat  towards 
the  Gulf,  and  the  perennial  grumbling  about  rations, 
with  a  corresponding  alacrity  in  consuming  them. 

The  18th  of  October  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  was 
such  a  day  as  few  have  seen  who  have  not  spent  an 
autumn  in  Virginia, — crisp  and  bright  and  still  in  the 
morning ;  mellow  and  golden  and  still  at  noon ;  crim- 
son and  glorious  and  still  at  the  sunsetting;  just  blue 
enough  in  the  distance  to  soften  without  obscuring  the 
outline  of  the  mountains ;  just  hazy  enough  to  render 
the  atmosphere  visible  without  limiting  the  range  of 
sight.  As  evening  closed  above  the  valley  the  soft 
j^leadings  of  some  homesick  soldier's  flute  floated  out 
through  the  quiet  camp,  while  around  a  blazing  camp- 
fire  an  impromptu  glee-club  of  Ohio  boys  lightened 
the  hour  and  their  own  hearts  by  singing  the  songs  of 
home.  An  unusually  large  letter-mail  arrived  that 
evening  and  was  distributed  to  the  men,  which  reminds 
me  that  the  First  Connecticut  Cavalry,  belonging  to 
Custer's  division,  had  a  unique  and  pleasant  manner 
of  announcing  the  arrival  of  a  mail :  the  regimental 
trumpeters,  constituting  a  sort  of  cornet  band,  would 
form  in  front  of  the  colonel's  tent  and  play  "  Home, 
Sweet  Home,"  sometimes  following  that  immediately 
with  "  The  Girl  I  Left  Behind  Me." 


266         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

The  letters  were  all  read  and  their  contents  dis- 
cussed; the  flute  had  ceased  its  complaining;  the  eight 
o'clock  roll-call  was  over;  taps  had  sounded;  lights 
were  out  in  the  tents ;  cook-fires  flickered  low ;  the 
mists  of  the  autumn  night  gathered  gray  and  chill; 
the  sentinels  paced  back  and  forth  in  front  of  the  vari- 
ous headquarters;  the  camp  was  still;  that  many-headed 
monster,  a  great  army,  was  asleep.  Midnight  came, 
and  with  it  no  sound  but  the  tramp  of  the  relief-guard 
as  the  sergeant  replaced  the  tired  sentinels.  One 
o'clock,  and  all  was  tranquil  as  a  peace  convention; 
two,  three  o'clock,  and  yet  the  soldiers  slept.  At  four 
the  silence  was  broken  by  sharp  firing  in  the  direction 
of  our  cavalry  pickets,  towards  the  western  side  of  the 
valley.  The  firing  increased  in  volume,  suggesting  an 
attack  in  force  by  cavalry.  General  Custer  (than 
whom,  by  the  way,  the  wars  of  the  century  probably 
have  not  developed  an  abler  leader  of  a  cavalry  divis- 
ion) quietly  despatched  a  regiment  to  support  our  out- 
posts, and  awaited  developments,  which  speedily  came. 
Fifteen  minutes  later  heavy  skirmish-firing  was  heard 
on  the  left  of  the  infantry,  two  miles  from  where  our 
cavalry  division  was  encamped.  The  firing  on  our  ex- 
treme right  gradually  died  away,  and  that  in  front  of 
the  infantry  line  rapidly  increased,  showing  that  the 
movement  on  our  right  had  been  a  feint,  while  the  real 
attack  had  now  begun  against  the  centre  and  left. 

"  Boots  and  saddles !"  was  blown  from  division,  bri- 
gade, and  regimental  headquarters.  Tlie  darkness  rang 
with  the  blare  of  bugles  and  the  shouts  of  officers  hur- 
rying the  troopers  from  their  dreams  to  their  horses. 
The  rattle  of  musketry  in   front  of  the  infantry  in- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  A.  BAYARD  NETTLETON.     267 

creased  to  heavy  volleys,  the  volleys  thickened  into  a 
continuous  roar ;  and  now,  as  day  began  to  dawn,  the 
deep  bass  of  the  artillery  came  in  to  complete  the  grand 
but  terrible  chorus  of  battle.  The  cavalry  were  speedily 
mounted  and  in  line  by  regiments,  awaiting  orders. 
Awaiting:  orders!  That  is  the  time  that  tries  the  cour- 
age  of  the  bravest.  Once  in  the  heat  and  hurry  and  in- 
spiration  of  the  battle,  the  average  soldier  forgets  fear  in 
the  excitement  of  the  hour ;  but  to  stand  at  a  safe  dis- 
tance, though  within  easy  sight  and  hearing  of  the  con- 
flict, ready,  expectant,  every  nerve  strung,  awaiting  the 
word  of  command  to  march  into  a  hailstorm  of  death, 
that  is  the  crucial  test.  It  is  at  such  a  time  that  all 
the  mental  struggle  involved  in  a  soldier's  death  is  un- 
dergone, leaving  nothing  but  the  mere  physical  pang 
of  sudden  dying  to  complete  the  sacrifice. 

"  Custer's  division  to  the  centre !"  was  the  laconic 
command  from  General  Wright ;  and  as  the  sun  was 
rising  our  four  thousand  troopers,  with  accompanying 
batteries,  marched  into  the  fight.  As  we  came  into  full 
view  of  the  field  the  whole  sickening  truth  flashed  upon 
us, — the  infantry  had  been  surprised  in  their  beds  by 
Early's  reinforced  army ;  our  best  artillery  was  already 
in  the  hands  of  the  Confederates  and  turned  against  us ; 
thousands  of  our  men  had  been  killed,  wounded,  or 
captured  before  they  could  even  oficr  resistance ;  Sheri- 
dan's victorious  and  hitherto  invincible  army  was  routed, 
and  in  disorderly  retreat  before  a  confident,  yelling,  and 
pursuing  enemy.  The  roads  were  crowded  with  wagons 
and  ambulances  hurrying  to  the  rear,  while  the  fields 
were  alive  with  wounded  stragglers,  camp-followers,  and 
disorganized  troops,  without  officers,  without  arms,  and 


268         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

without  courage,  all  bent  on  being  the  first  to  carry  the 
news  of  the  disaster  back  to  Winchester.  A  brave  nu- 
cleus of  the  army,  which  had  not  shared  in  the  surprise 
and  the  consequent  demoralization,  was  fighting  with  de- 
termined pluck  to  prevent  disaster  from  becoming  dis- 
grace. The  timely  arrival  and  the  spirited  onset  of  the 
cavalry  soon  checked  the  pursuit  by  the  Confederates, 
and  gave  time  for  our  infantry  to  begin  re-forming  their 
lines ;  but  the  battle  and  the  retreat  continued.  Two 
regiments  of  cavalry  were  speedily  deployed  across  the 
country,  well  to  the  rear,  for  the  purpose  of  checking 
the  stampede  and  turning  back  the  flying  mob  of  panic- 
stricken  infantrymen ;  but  the  attempt  was  fruitless, 
and  was  soon  abandoned.  Our  two  divisions  of  cavalry 
deployed  in  heavy  lines  to  the  right  and  left  of  the 
valley  pike,  and  began  their  hot  day's  work  against 
rebel  infantry  and  artillery. 

At  nine  o'clock  a  portion  of  the  enemy's  troops  oc- 
cupied, and  were  plainly  seen  plundering,  the  camps 
where  the  Sixth  Corps  had  slept  the  night  before ;  our 
left  was  being  pressed  with  great  vigor  by  a  flanking 
force  which  seemed  determined  to  reach  the  pike,  and 
thus  strike  our  wagon-trains.  General  Wright  had 
unquestionably  resolved  on  a  retreat  to  a  new  line  near 
Winchester,  and  the  best  we  hoped  for  was  that  our 
mounted  troops  could  so  protect  the  retreat  and  retard 
the  pursuit  as  to  prevent  the  annihilation  of  the  broken 
army  and  the  exposure  of  Washington.  The  universal 
thought,  and,  in  varying  phrase,  the  spontaneous  utter- 
ance was,  "Oh  for  one  hour  of  Sheridan!"  The  un- 
var3nng  success  that  had  attended  our  leader  in  all  his 
campaigns  ;  the  instinctive  promptness  with  which  he 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  A.  BAYARD  NETTLETON.     269 

seemed  to  seize  the  key  of  every  situation,  however 
difficult ;  the  amazing  quickness  and  precision  with 
which  he  formed  new  plans  on  the  field,  and  his  thun- 
derbolt method  of  executing  each  design ;  his  success 
in  imparting  to  his  infantry  much  of  the  mobility  and 
dash  of  cavalry,  and  to  his  cavalry  much  of  the  cohe- 
rency and  steadiness  of  infantry ; — all  these  had  com- 
bined, in  spite  of  not  a  few  unheroic  personal  traits,  to 
give  his  army  unbounded  faith  in  his  leadership  and 
enthusiasm  for  the  man.  But  Sheridan  was  twenty 
miles  away,  at  Winchester,  where  he  had  arrived  the 
day  before  from  Washington.  Meantime,  the  battle  and 
the  day  wore  on  together.  The  sulphurous  cloud  that 
overhung  the  field,  and  the  dense  volumes  of  dust  that 
rose  behind  the  wheeling  batteries  and  the  charging 
troops,  contrasted  grimly  with  the  sweet  light  of  that 
perfect  October  day  as  it  could  be  seen  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  battle-field.  At  noon,  and  for  some  time 
previously,  the  enemy  was  opposed  only  by  Merritt's 
and  Custer's  cavalry  and  Getty's  division  of  infantry, 
with  their  accompanying  batteries,  while  the  main  por- 
tion of  the  Sixth  Corps  was  more  than  two  miles  to  the 
right  and  rear  of  Getty,  engaged  in  reorganizing,  and 
the  Nineteenth  Corps  was,  in  turn,  to  the  right  and 
rear  of  the  Sixth. 

At  this  juncture,  those  of  us  who  were  stationed  near 
the  Winchester  pike  heard,  far  to  the  rear  of  us,  a  faint 
cheer  go  up,  as  a  hurrying  horseman  passed  a  group  of 
wounded  soldiers,  and  dashed  down  that  historic  road 
towards  our  line  of  battle.  As  lie  drew  nearer  we  could 
see  that  the  coal-black  horse  was  flecked  with  foam, 
both  horse  and  rider  grimed  with  dust,  and  the  dilated 


270         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

nostrils  and  laboring  breath  of  the  former  told  of  a  race 
both  long  and  swift.  A  moment  more  and  a  deafening 
cheer  broke  from  the  troops  in  that  part  of  the  field,  as 
they  recognized  in  the  coming  horseman  their  longed-for 
Sheridau.  Above  the  roar  of  musketry  and  artillery 
that  shout  arose  like  a  cry  of  victory.  The  news  flashed 
from  brigade  to  brigade  along  our  front  with  tele- 
graphic speed,  and  then,  as  Sheridan,  cap  in  hand, 
dashed  along  the  rear  of  the  struggling  line,  thus  con- 
firming to  all  eyes  the  fact  of  his  arrival,  a  continuous 
cheer  burst  from  the  whole  army.  Hope  took  the  place 
of  fear,  courage  the  place  of  despondency,  cheerfulness 
the  place  of  gloom.  The  entire  aspect  of  things  seemed 
changed  in  a  moment.  Further  retreat  was  no  longer 
thought  of.  At  all  points  to  the  rear  stragglers  could 
be  seen  by  hundreds  voluntarily  rejoining  their  regi- 
ments with  such  arms  as  they  could  hastily  find ;  order 
seemed  to  have  come  spontaneously  out  of  chaos,  an 
army  out  of  a  rabble. 

The  cannonade  of  the  early  morning,  when  the  battle 
opened,  had  been  attributed  by  Sheridan,  at  Winchester, 
to  a  reconnoissance,  which  he  knew  had  been  ordered 
from  our  lines,  and  it  was  only  when  the  head  of  the 
column  of  fugitive  troops  and  baggage-wagons  were 
seen,  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  a.m.,  approaching 
Winchester  "with  appalling  rapidity"  that  a  concep- 
tion of  the  real  situation  dawned  on  the  astounded  gen- 
eral, and  promptly  started  him  on  his  now  famous  "ride" 
to  the  front. 

The  enemy,  believing  the  continued  cheers  announced 
the  arrival  of  Federal  reinforcements,  became  more 
cautious,  and  even,  like  ourselves,  threw  up  temporary 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  A.  BAYARD  NETTLETON.     271 

breastworks.  Our  commander  instantly  decided  to  hold 
the  line  we  were  then  fighting  on,  and  sent  galloping 
orders  to  the  Sixth  and  Nineteenth  Corps  to  hasten  up 
to  our  support  before  the  enemy  should  attack.  By  two 
o'clock  our  lines  were  fully  re-formed,  the  various  in- 
fantry divisions,  greatly  strengthened  by  the  return  of 
stragglers,  were  in  position,  and  the  cavalry  had  been 
sent  to  the  flanks, — Custer  to  the  right  and  Merritt  to 
the  left.  Everything  now  indicated  that  we  should  be 
able  to  hold  our  ground  without  further  retreat.  By 
this  time  Early,  apparently  satisfied  that  we  had  re- 
ceived no  reinforcements,  made  a  confident  and  per- 
sistent assault  upon  our  lines,  obviously  determined  to 
close  the  day  with  our  final  rout,  and,  returning  the 
courtesy  of  thirty  days  before,  send  the  remnant  of 
Sheridan's  army  "  whirling  through  Winchester."  The 
attack  was  repulsed  at  every  point.  This  defensive 
success  under  Sheridan's  leadership  perfectly  restored 
the  courage  and  spirit  of  the  army.  It  had  got  over  its 
panic  and  was  again  ready  for  business. 

Shortly  after  this  attack  and  repulse,  report  came 
from  the  Front  Royal  pike,  which  was  held  by  Powell's 
cavalry,  that  a  strong  column  of  rebel  infantry  was 
marching  past  our  left  and  towards  Winchester, — a  re- 
port which,  although  proving  erroneous,  delayed  the 
execution  of  Sheridan's  quickly-formed  intention  to 
attack  the  enemy  and  save  the  day.  At  four  p.m.  the 
command  was  sent  along  the  line  to  prepare  for  a  gen- 
eral forward  movement.  Everything  was  soon  ready  ; 
two  hundred  bugles  sounded  the  advance ;  all  our  artil- 
lery opened  on  the  enemy  with  shot  and  shell,  and  the 
long  line  of  cavah-y  and  infantry  moved  steadily  for- 


272         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

ward  across  the  open  plain,  under  a  heavy  fire,  towards 
the  rebel  position,  with  a  coolness  and  order  I  never 
saw  surpassed  during  four  years  of  service.  To  one 
who  had  seen  the  rout  and  panic  and  loss  of  the  morn- 
ing, it  seemed  impossible  that  this  was  the  same  army. 
The  enemy  was  evidently  astonished  at  our  taking  the 
offensive,  but  met  our  attack  with  confident  coolness, 
and  then  with  determined  fury.  As  soon  as  the  Con- 
federate infantry  was  fully  engaged  with  ours  in  the 
centre,  the  order  was  given  for  the  cavalry  divisions  to 
charge  both  flanks  of  the  enemy's  line.  The  bugles 
sounded,  the  horses  caught  the  spirit  of  the  hour,  and 
pressed  forward  with  steady  but  resistless  speed ;  seven 
thousand  troopers,  with  drawn  sabres,  sent  up  a  battle 
yell  wild  enough  to  wake  the  slain  over  whom  we  gal- 
loped, and  we  were  in  the  midst  of  that  grandest  of 
martial  movements, — a  genuine  cavalry  charge. 

The  effect  was  magical.  The  enemy's  mounted  troops 
first  made  a  stout  resistance,  then  scattered  like  sheep 
to  the  hills,  and  his  infantry  line,  having  both  flanks 
turned  back  upon  itself  by  our  cavalry,  and  its  centre 
crushed  by  a  final  magnificent  charge  of  our  infantry, 
broke  in  confusion,  and  started  southward  in  confused 
retreat.  Panic  seized  every  part  of  the  rebel  force; 
infantry  vied  with  artillery,  and  both  with  the  wagon- 
trains,  in  a  harum-scarum  race  from  the  Cedar  Creek 
Ford,  and,  as  the  sun  went  down,  the  army  which 
at  daybreak  had  gained  one  of  the  most  dramatic 
and  overwhelming  victories  of  the  war  was  a  frantic 
rabble,  decimated  in  numbers,  and  flying  before  the 
same  army  it  had  twelve  hours  before  so  completely 
surprised  and  routed.     Our  cavalry  pressed  the  pursuit 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  A.  BAYARD  NETTLETON.     273 

with  a  vehemence  and  success  that  astonished  even  the 
much-expecting  Sheridan.  Merritt  on  the  left  of  the 
pike,  and  Custer  on  the  right,  met  with  no  opposition 
from  the  scared  and  fugitive  mob  of  mingled  "  horse, 
foot,  and  dragoons."  The  pike  was  blockaded  for  miles 
with  cannon,  caissons,  ambulances,  and  baggage-wagons, 
which  our  troopers  easily  captured  and  turned  back- 
ward towards  our  lines.  The  chase  continued,  with  con- 
stant captures  of  prisoners  and  war  material,  until, 
near  the  foot  of  Fisher's  Hill,  the  dense  darkness  en- 
forced a  truce  between  pursuers  and  pursued.  Both 
infantry  and  cavalry  returned  to  sleep  in  their  camps 
of  the  night  before,  hungry  and  half  dead  with  fatigue, 
but  happy,  and  having  about  them,  as  trophies  of  the 
day's  work,  forty-five  pieces  of  captured  and  recaptured 
artillery,  and  a  field  full  of  wagons,  ambulances,  and 
prisoners  of  war.  This  ended  the  career  of  Early's 
army.  As  an  army  it  never  fought  another  battle, — its 
commander  never  again  attempted  to  redeem  the  Shen- 
andoah Valley,  nor  to  invade  the  North. 

This  free-hand  sketch  of  an  historical  military  epi- 
sode, taken  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  participant 
with  the  Union  cavalry,  and  making  no  pretensions  to 
microscopic  accuracy  of  detail,  suggests  one  or  two  ob- 
vious commentaries : 

First.  The  skill,  the  courage,  and  the  self-command 
with  which  the  initial  part  of  Early's  movement  of 
October  19  was  planned  and  executed  could  not  well 
be  surpassed.  To  move  a  fully-equipped  army  of  in- 
fantry and  artillery  on  a  still  night  along  the  front  of  a 
powerful  and  presumably  watchful  enemy,  twice  ford  a 
considerable  stream,  noiselessly  capture  or  "  relieve"  the 

18 


274         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

hostile  pickets  on  the  river-bank,  place  a  turning  force 
on  the  enemy's  flank,  surprise  the  bulk  of  the  hostile 
army  in  bed,  and,  after  reducing  it  one-sixth  in  num- 
bers, drive  it  in  a  pell-mell  retreat,  shelled  by  its  own 
artillery,  requires,  it  need  not  be  said,  some  of  the  very 
highest  military  qualities  in  both  commander  and  troops. 
Whether  the  chief  credit  for  the  achievement  is  due  to 
General  Early  or  to  his  subordinate,  General  Gordon,  is 
a  question  of  personal  rather  than  public  interest. 

Second.  The  negligence  which  could  expose  Sheri- 
dan's victorious  army  to  the  possibility  of  such  a  sur- 
prise, humiliation,  and  rout,  especially  after  the  distinct 
warning  of  three  days  before,  stands  without  explana- 
tion and  without  excuse.  Four  thousand  one  hundred 
men  killed  and  wounded  are  a  heavy  price  to  pay  for 
the  failure  to  keep  one's  eyes  open  and  make  a  timely 
reconnoissance. 

Third.  Early's  neglect  to  relentlessly  press  his  ad- 
vantage during  the  forenoon  of  the  19th,  before  Sheri- 
dan reached  the  field,  and  while  there  was  in  his  imme- 
diate front,  for  much  of  the  time,  only  one  battered 
division  of  infantry  and  two  divisions  of  cavalry,  indi- 
cates that  he  was  overcome  with  causeless  timidity  in 
the  hour  of  his  greatest  triumph, — an  experience  not 
uncommon  to  commanders  whose  persistent  courage 
(not  personal  bravery)  in  the  open  field  does  not  equal 
their  genius  for  unusual  strategic  enterprises.  Several 
of  Early's  most  intelligent  subordinates  attribute  the 
fatal  delay  to  three  things, — their  commander's  willing- 
ness to  let  well  enough  alone,  the  profound  respect  of 
Early's  army  for  Sheridan's  cavalry,  which  had  never 
been  surprised  and  never  known  defeat,  and  the  impos- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  A.  BAYARD  NETTLETON.     275 

sibility  of  preserving  discipline  among  the  destitute 
Confederate  soldiers  so  long  as  there  was  anything  to 
plunder  in  the  captured  Federal  camps.  The  last- 
named  cause  received  grim  confirmation  from  the  fact 
that  on  repossessing  the  battle-field  of  the  morning,  we 
found  that  hundreds  of  the  Union  slain  had  been 
stripped  to  entire  nudity.  I  counted  sixty-three  in- 
stances of  this  in  riding  hurriedly  across  a  single  sec- 
tion of  the  plain. 

Fourth.  Stripped  of  all  poetic  glosses,  and  analyzed 
after  twenty-two  years  of  peace,  when  nil  admirari 
seems  to  have  become  the  motto  of  all,  the  result 
achieved  by  Sheridan's  matchless  generalship,  after  he 
reached  his  scattered  army  on  the  field  of  Cedar  Creek, 
— as  an  illustration  of  the  wonderful  influence  of  one 
man  over  many,  and  an  example  of  snatching  a  great 
victory  from  an  appalling  defeat, — still  stands  without 
a  parallel  in  history. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  AN  ARMY  SURGEON. 

BY  COLONEL   DANIEL   HAND, 

SURGEON   V,  S.  VOLDNTBERS. 


When  Adjutant-General  Sanborn  and  the  newly- 
appointed  assistant  surgeon  of  the  First  Minnesota  Vol- 
unteers joined  that  regiment  at  Washington  on  the  27th 
of  July,  1861,  it  is  not  an  exaggeration  to  say  the 
men  who  afterwards  made  that  regiment  famous  were 
badly  demoralized,  and,  so  far  as  we  could  observe,  their 
condition  was  that  of  the  whole  army  of  General 
McDowell. 

They  were  tired,  disheartened,  and  homesick,  and 
my  first  experience  at  sick-call  was  in  listening  to  the 
sorrowful  tales  of  those  who  wanted  to  go  home.  They 
found  many  reasons  why  they  were  not  fit  for  soldiers, 
— weak  back,  lame  knees,  sore  feet,  palpitation  of 
heart,  rupture,  night-blindness,  etc.  It  took  most  of 
my  time  to  convince  them  they  were  not  total  wrecks. 

Some,  indeed,  were  unfit  for  service  and  were  given 
certificates  of  disability,  on  which  they  were  discharged, 
but  most  of  them  gradually  forgot  their  ills  and  became 
true  soldiers. 

When  the  regiment  was  ordered  up  the  Potomac 
River  we  were  all  glad  to  get  away  from  Washington  ; 
but  here  began  my  troubles.     I  had  no  horse,  and  no 

276 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL   HAND.  277 

money  to  buy  one,  and  above  all  things  disliked  to 
walk.  However,  in  getting  hospital  supplies,  ambu- 
lances, etc.,  for  the  regiment,  I  had  learned  about  how 
things  were  being  done,  and  that  only  those  who  asked 
secured  anything,  so  I  went  straight  to  headquarters 
and  called  on  General  Scott.  This  was  the  only  time 
I  ever  saw  that  illustrious  soldier,  and  the  impression 
then  given  me  was  one  of  sadness. 

He  was  alone  in  a  contracted  office  on  Pennsylvania 
Avenue,  and  even  to  my  young  eyes  it  was  plain  he  was 
losing  his  grasp  on  affairs.  Instead  of  resenting  my 
intrusion,  he  received  me  kindly,  and  on  hearing  my 
statement  gave  me  a  card  to  the  quartermaster.  Major 
Kucker.  That  usually  irascible  individual  merely 
groaned,  and  then  gave  me  an  order  for  a  horse,  sad- 
dle, and  bridle.  I  took  it  to  the  government  corral 
near  by,  and  then  from  a  herd  just  arrived  from  the 
North  I  selected  a  fine  trotting  mare,  on  which  I  joined 
the  regiment,  then  on  the  march  to  Edwards  Ferry, 
Maryland. 

Soon  after  we  went  into  camp,  one  hot  afternoon, 
while  on  this  march,  a  comical  thing  happened.  A 
violent  rain-storm  came  up,  and  while  most  of  us  were 
holding  our  tent-flaps  a  wild  yell  arose,  and  looking  out 
we  saw  nearly  the  whole  regiment  turned  out  in  a  state 
of  nature  and  in  double  file,  running  up  and  down  the 
parade-ground  in  the  rain.  Colonel  Gorman  was  scan- 
dalized, and  from  the  front  of  his  tent  shook  his  fist 
and  shouted  to  them  to  go  back.  It  was  some  time 
before  the  clothing  and  peace  were  restored. 

While  near  Rockville,  Maryland,  we  were  joined  by 
Dr.  Murphy,  who  from  that  time  shared  with  me  the 


278         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

responsibility  of  caring  for  the  hospital  department.  I 
think  the  first  surgical  case  we  had  to  treat  was  a  face 
burned  with  creasote  in  an  awkward  attempt  to  cure  the 
toothache.  At  Camp  Stone,  near  Edwards  Ferry,  we 
spent  six  months  of  very  comfortable  training.  The 
men  were  drilling,  watching  on  picket,  and  playing 
jokes  on  each  other.  We  were  all  learning  the  duties 
of  military  life.  Of  course,  with  so  many  men  han- 
dling firearms,  there  were  some  accidents,  and  we  doc- 
tors had  ojjportunity  to  study  many  wounds.  I  remem- 
ber well  one  poor  fellow  who  was  thus  shot  through  the 
body,  being  watched  with  much  anxiety  by  all  of  us. 
One  day  he  said,  "  Doctor,  will  you  stop  those  fellows 
from  playing  that  tune  ?"  and  then  I  learned  that  our 
band,  which  had  a  shady  nook  back  of  the  hospital, 
where  they  went  for  j)ractice,  had  been  tooting  away  on 
the  "  Dead  March"  ever  since  the  man  was  wounded. 
They  thought  it  was  to  be  their  first  chance  for  a 
military  funeral. 

At  this  time  the  large  fund  sent  by  the  generous 
people  of  Minnesota  for  the  use  of  the  First  Regiment 
was  in  the  hands  of  our  good  Chaplain  Neill,  and  by 
the  judicious  use  we  made  of  it  much  good  was  done. 
The  real  wants  of  the  soldiers,  however,  were  well  cared 
for  by  the  government,  and  it  was  only  now  and  then 
a  legitimate  call  could  be  made  on  that  fund. 

An  amusing  scene  that  occurred  about  this  time  was 
the  whipping  of  a  negro  for  stealing,  by  order  of  Colonel 
Gorman.  The  whole  thing  was  a  farce,  but  the  New 
York  Tribune  made  some  unpleasant  remarks  about  it. 

As  the  medical  department  of  the  First  Minnesota 
was  left  in  rather  an  anomalous  position  by  the  capture 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  HAND.  279 

at  Bull  Run  and  subsequent  parole  of  its  first  medical 
officers,  neither  Dr.  Murphy  nor  I  felt  satisfied  to  re- 
main. He  went  back  to  Minnesota  to  act  as  surgeon  of 
the  Fourth  Regiment,  and  I  went  before  the  Medical 
Examining  Board  in  Washington,  and  was  appointed 
brigade  surgeon  United  States  Volunteers. 

Being  assigned,  however,  to  General  Gorman's  bri- 
gade, my  connection  with  the  First  Minnesota  was  kept 
up  for  nearly  a  year  longer,  and  I  learned  to  appre- 
ciate the  sturdy  character  of  its  men  and  peculiarities 
of  its  officers. 

One  officer  in  particular  I  much  admired, — Captain 
H.  C.  Lester,  of  Winona.  He  was  a  gentle,  scholarly 
man,  thoroughly  conscientious  in  performing  his  duty, 
and  withal  not  ambitious.  When  news  came  of  his 
appointment  as  colonel  of  the  Third  Regiment  he  was 
surprised  and  stunned.  He  hesitated  what  to  do,  and 
it  was  only  on  my  urgent  advice  that  he  decided  to 
accept.  I  have  been  sorry  since  that  I  gave  it.  He 
knew  himself  better  than  I  did, — -knew  the  fatal  inde- 
cision that  was  his,  and  so  came  disaster.  He  was  never 
a  coward,  but  when  the  supreme  moment  of  his  life 
came  was  not  prepared  for  it. 

My  first  extensive  experience  with  wounded  men  was 
after  the  battle  of  Ball's  Bluff.  As  General  Gorman's 
brigade  was  put  across  the  Potomac  some  two  miles 
below  the  bluff,  and  we  had  no  order  to  hurry  forward, 
we  missed  the  chance  of  taking  our  place  in  that 
slaughter.  A  few  skirmishes  on  our  front  brought  a 
number  of  wounded  men,  among  them  the  noted  Gen- 
eral Lander,  who  rode  up  to  me  a  few  minutes  after  he 
had  received  a  bullet  in  the  calf  of  his  leg.     An  aide 


280         GLIMPSES  OF  THE  NATION'S  STEUGGLE. 

asked  me  to  examine  the  general's  wound,  and  I  was 
about  to  do  so,  when,  as  I  pulled  his  boot-strap  out  of 
the  hole  where  it  had  been  carried  by  the  ball,  he  swore 
a  blue  streak,  and  vowed  he  would  go  on  to  the  ferry 
before  having  anything  done.  I  was  rather  glad  to  get 
him  off  my  hands.  He  was  restless  and  intractable  at 
all  times,  and  by  his  independent  conduct  after  this 
wound  brought  on  a  septic  fever  from  which  he  died. 

As  soon  as  we  were  recalled  to  the  east  side  of  the 
river  most  of  our  medical  officers  were  busy  caring  for 
the  wounded  saved  from  Ball's  Bluff.  We  carried  them 
in  ambulances  to  Poolsville,  and  there  in  a  church  and 
large  hospital-tents  most  of  them  did  well.  Coming 
from  the  hospital  one  day  I  met  our  commander,  Gen- 
eral Charles  P.  Stone,  and,  after  answering  his  ques- 
tions about  the  wounded,  I  said,  "General,  this  is  a 
most  unfortunate  affair."  He  stopped  instantly,  and 
said,  "  How  so  ?"  I  had  to  explain  that  to  my  eyes  we 
had  met  with  a  heavy  loss  and  had  nothing  to  show  for 
it.  He  appeared  much  depressed,  and  merely  said, 
"  Time  will  tell."  I  have  always  believed  this  officer 
was  badly  treated.  Soon  after  this  time  deprived  of 
his  command  and  imprisoned  in  Fort  Lafayette,  he  has 
never  yet  been  fully  acquainted  with  the  charge  made 
against  him. 

While  in  our  winter  quarters  we  had  many  cases  of 
measles,  and  the  whole  division  suffered  from  the  same 
epidemic.  It  was  astonishing  to  find  so  many  grown-up 
men  who  had  never  had  measles,  and  by  comparing 
notes  we  found  the  number  of  such  candidates  was 
much  greater  in  the  country  regiments  than  in  those 
raised  in  cities. 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL   HAND.  281 

In  many  other  ways  we  found  the  city-raised  soldiers 
had  an  early  advantage  over  their  country  comrades. 
They  had  caught  everything  that  was  going  while  chil- 
dren, they  were  used  to  being  up  and  out  late  at  night, 
and  they  were  prompt  to  take  care  of  themselves,  while 
the  lads  from  the  country  had  been  coddled  by  their 
mothers,  kept  out  of  harm's  way,  and  were  slow  to  act. 

To  General  John  Sedgwick,  who  succeeded  General 
Stone  in  the  command  of  our  division,  we  all  became 
strongly  attached.  He  was  a  noble  man  in  every  way, 
and  as  a  soldier  we  believed  he  had  no  superior. 

Under  his  lead,  on  February  22,  1862,  we  finally 
broke  camp  and  marched  to  Harper's  Ferry.  There 
we  witnessed  the  laying  of  the  much-talked-of  pontoon- 
bridge,  and  were  among  the  first  to  cross  into  the  de- 
serted town.  A  large  army  accompanied  us,  and  after 
a  few  days  we  all  moved  on  Charlestown,  and  finally 
made  a  grand  demonstration  on  Berryville,  Virginia. 
I  well  remember  how  the  First  Minnesota  on  this  day 
threw  down  their  knapsacks  and  came  down  double- 
quick  to  the  support  of  a  battery  which  General  Gor- 
man had  ordered  to  shell  a  hill  where  a  hostile  move- 
ment was  being  made.  After  firing  several  rounds  we 
cautiously  advanced,  and  lo!  the  whole  thing  was  a 
horse-power  threshing-machine,  with  a  few  frightened 
natives  collected  about  it.  I  doubt  if  there  was  a  Con- 
federate soldier  within  five  miles. 

After  marching  and  countermarching  we  were  or- 
dered back  to  Harper's  Ferry,  where  we  took  cars  for 
Washington. 

We  know  now  that  this  futile  movement  was  a  part 
of  the  plan  Mr.  Lincoln  desired  carried  out,  for  the 


282         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

Army  of  the  Potomac  to  march  on  Richmond  without 
uncovering  Washington,  and  our  signal  faihire  and  re- 
turn was  because  General  McClellan  had  determined 
the  army  should  move  by  a  different  route, — that  of  the 
Peninsula. 

From  Washington  we  marched  to  Alexandria,  and 
then  took  steamboats  down  the  Potomac  to  Fortress 
Monroe.  We  reached  that  place  not  long  after  the 
famous  fight  between  the  "  Monitor"  and  the  "  Merri- 
mac,"  and  the  sight  was  one  long  to  be  remembered,  of 
that  beautiful  harbor  crowded  with  vessels  of  all  sizes 
and  characters,  from  the  busy  little  tug  and  graceful 
two-masted  schooner  to  the  big  steamer  loaded  with 
troops,  tlie  grand  man-of-war,  and,  above  all,  the  vic- 
torious "  Monitor,"  then  anchored  off  the  "  Rip-Raps." 
Soon  after  we  were  landed  at  Hampton  our  troubles 
began.  Many  men  were  sick,  and  when  we  began  the 
march  on  Yorktown  there  were  not  half  enough  hos- 
pitals for  those  we  had  to  leave  behind. 

With  what  high  hopes  we  started  on  that  campaign  ! 
I  think  no  one  except  our  commander  doubted  our 
ability  to  march  straight  to  Richmond.  I  remember, 
as  though  it  were  yesterday,  the  feeling  of  despair  that 
came  over  me  one  day  when  on  a  narrow  bridge  an  ob- 
streperous mule  crushed  my  knee  against  the  side  of 
my  horse,  and  I  felt  I  should  not  be  able  to  go  into 
Richmond  with  the  advance.  My  lame  knee  was  long 
forgotten  before  we  did  get  there. 

The  life  before  Yorktown  was  not  pleasant.  We 
were  annoyed  by  the  delay,  and  the  daily  firing  on  the 
picket-line,  the  frequent  long-roll  in  the  night,  and  the 
sight  of  comrades  falling   fruitlessly,  made  us  heart- 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  HAND.  283 

sick.  Just  at  this  time  Captain  William  J.  Bartlett, 
of  the  Twentieth  Massachusetts,  in  our  division,  lost 
his  leg,  and  the  sight  of  his  thigh  being  amputated 
for  an  insignificant-looking  bullet-wound  in  the  knee 
made  me  study  over  again  the  literature  of  joint 
wounds.  As  we  then  looked  at  it,  the  question  was 
between  saving  the  life  or  the  limb.  Now  I  believe 
such  a  limb  can  be  saved. 

At  last  we  moved  on  and  found  no  enemy  in  front. 
General  Sedgwick's  division,  with  most  of  Sumner's 
corps,  camped  the  first  night  near  the  earthworks  of 
Yorktown.  All  through  the  afternoon  we  had  heard 
the  roar  of  cannon  in  the  direction  of  AVilliamsburg, 
but  we  took  no  part  in  that  battle. 

Transports  on  the  York  River  were  waiting  for  us, 
and  we  hurried  on  board.  As  we  marched  down  to  the 
wharf  at  Yorktown  the  Hon.  H.  M.  Rice  and  other 
members  of  the  famous  War  Committee  of  the  Senate 
met  us  and  gave  us  good  cheer.  Mr.  Rice,  as  usual, 
was  especially  solicitous  about  the  welfare  of  the  First 
Minnesota.  When  we  were  landed  that  noon  at  West 
Point  a  battle  was  already  raging  there.  We  were  too 
late  to  take  any  active  part,  but  large  numbers  of 
wounded  were  brought  in,  and  all  of  us  surgeons  were 
kept  busy.  Here  for  the  only  time  during  the  war  I 
saw  some  dead  bodies  of  our  men  with  bayonet  holes  in 
them, — thrusts  evidently  made  after  death.  We  moved 
rapidly  now,  and  the  march  to  White  House  on  the 
Pamunkey  River  and  then  to  Chickahominy  was  most 
exciting.  Here  again  we  stopped  for  several  days.  We 
lay  idle,  and  the  ofiicers  of  our  corps  (Sumner)  got  up 
a  hurdle-race  to  kill  time.    It  made  much  fun,  especially 


284         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

as  about  the  end  of  it  there  came  up  a  fierce  hail-storm 
that  drove  us  all  to  our  tents.    My  active  comrade,  Lieu- 
tenant Samuel  Kaguet,  gathered  basins  full  of  hail,  and 
very  soon,  with   the   aid  of   lemons   and    commissary 
whiskey,  we  had  concocted  quite  a  fair  punch.    Ice  was 
something  we  had  not  seen  since  leaving  Washington. 
The  men  of  the  First  Minnesota  were  busy  at  work  on  a 
low  bridge  across  the  Chickahominy,  afterwards  known 
as  the  "  Grapevine  Bridge."     Heavy  rains  came  every 
day,  and  the  miserable  stream  had  grown  to  a  mighty 
torrent.     When,  on  the  afternoon  of  May  31,  1862,  we 
received  orders  to  cross  that  bridge  it  was  all  afloat,  and 
the  logs  would  bob  up  and  down  under  the  horses'  feet 
in  a  startling  manner.     General  Gorman  stood  by  the 
bridge  and  hurried  us  over,  and  then  led  his  brigade  to 
a  hill  near  by.     By  this  time  rapid  firing  was  heard  in 
the  distance,  and  almost  before  the  men  were  in  line  an 
aide  from  General  Sumner  dashed  up  and  directed  us  to 
hurry  forward  on  a  road  he  designated.     A  mile  down 
this  road  we  came  to  a  shallow  stream,  where  many  of 
the  men  tried  to  get  across  with  dry  feet  by  going  up- 
or  down-stream,  but  General  Sumner  was  there  himself, 
and  kept  crying  out,  "  Dash  right  through,  boys ;  don't 
go  round,"  and  then  I  knew  he  had  work  for  us  close  at 
hand. 

It  must  have  been  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  before 
our  brigade  was  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle  on  the  field 
at  Fair  Oaks. 

Almost  before  the  men  realized  what  was  coming 
bullets  were  whistling  about  us,  horses  were  excited  and 
some  running  away,  and  all  around  smoke  and  flying 
splinters.     General  Gorman  had  advanced  his  brigade 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  HAND.  285 

behind  the  fences  and  out-buildings  of  a  large  farm- 
house, and  the  splinters  from  the  picket-fence  flew  in 
every  direction.  I  was  never  more  excited  in  my  life, 
for  it  was  really  my  first  battle.  I  forgot  all  about  the 
wounded  and  the  hospitals,  and  with  the  rest  of  the  staff 
went  in  to  encourage  the  men  and  keep  them  well  up. 
As  we  pushed  through  the  garden  and  beyond  the  farm- 
house we  could  see  the  smoke  rolling  out  from  hundreds 
of  muskets  in  a  thick  grove  of  young  oaks,  and  they 
seemed  to  be  coming  fearfully  fast  towards  us.  Just 
then  General  Sedgwick  ordered  Kirby's  (formerly  Rick- 
ett's)  battery  into  position  between  the  house  and  barn, 
and  the  way  the  two  young  lieutenants,  Kirby  and 
Woodruff,  handled  their  pieces  was  beautiful.  They 
fired  grape  and  shrapnel  into  that  grove  so  fast  the 
advance  was  stopped,  and  even  before  darkness  came 
the  enemy  fell  back.  While  this  was  going  on  I  re- 
ceived the  only  wound  that  came  to  me  during  the  war, 
but  as  the  bullet  hit  me  in  the  rear  I  said  little  about  it. 
A  round  ball  passed  through  the  crupper  of  my  saddle 
and  lodged  against  the  end  of  my  spine.  It  was  easily 
extracted,  and  I  kept  it  as  a  souvenir.  The  wound  did 
not  disable  me,  and  soon  after  I  joined  the  other  sur- 
geons in  caring  for  the  wounded  in  and  about  the  farm- 
house before  mentioned.  That  night  has  ever  since 
been  a  blank  to  me,  and  I  don't  know  whether  I  lay 
down  or  not. 

The  early  morning  found  me  busy  with  the  wounded, 
but  without  a  head,  each  surgeon  taking  his  own  course. 
Soon,  however,  the  medical  director  of  the  corps.  Sur- 
geon J.  F.  Hammond,  appeared,  and  informed  me  that 
Surgeon  Liddell  of  General  Sedgwick's  division  was  in 


286         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

charge  of  a  hospital  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  to  the 
rear, — the  Adams  house, — and  I  must  take  charge  of 
this  one  on  the  field,— Courtney's  house.     Immediately 
I  set  about  organizing  our  forces.     Surgeon  Sherman, 
of  tlie   Thirty-fourth    New  York,  was   designated   as 
chief  operator  and  given  such  assistants  as  he  desired 
Another  surgeon  was  put  in  charge  of  the  stretcher- 
bearers,  another  to  provide  shelter,  and  so  on.     The 
hospital  stewards  with  their  supplies  were  brought  up 
and  all  were  busy.     All  this  time   the  roar  of  battle 
was  going  on  around  us,  and  men  were  falling  even  in 
the  yard  about  our  hospital,  but  unlike  the  day  before, 
when  I  forgot  the  wounded  in  watching  the  fight,  I  can 
truly  say  that  this  day  in  caring  for  the  wounded   I 
forgot  all  about  the  battle.     The  enemy  had  attempted 
at  daylight  to  again  advance  through  the  woods  before 
mentioned,  and  was  only  driven  back  after  a  bitter  fight. 
We  now  know  that  it  was  in  this  woods  General  Joe 
Johnston  received  the  wounds  that  disabled  him. 

The  wounded  were  constantly  being  brought  in  and 
laid  on  the  grass  about  the  yard.  My  place  was  to  see 
they  received  proper  attention.  Our  surgeons  worked 
faithfully,  and  the  wounded  were  rapidly  cared  for  and 
laid  away  in  the  shade.  By  eleven  a.m.  the  noise  of 
battle  appeared  to  fall  away  from  us  and  it  was  com- 
paratively quiet. 

About  noon  Chaplain  Neill,  who  was  helping  every- 
where, came  to  me  and  said  there  was  a  rebel  ofiicer 
confined  in  the  smoke-house,  whose  fiice  was  bloody 
and  who  looked  as  though  he  required  attention.  I 
directed  the  guard  to  open  the  door,  and  when  the 
ofiicer  came  out  he  looked  as  if  he  expected  us  to  exe- 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  HAND.  287 

cute  him.  On  getting  him  washed  up,  it  was  found  to 
be  General  Pettigrew,  C.  S.  A.,  with  a  wound  on  the 
side  of  his  head  and  his  shoulder  hurt.  He  was  able 
to  walk  to  the  rear,  and  I  never  saw  him  again. 

About  this  time  a  barrel  of  commissary  whiskey  was 
brought  up  and  placed  in  my  charge  for  the  wounded. 
I  set  a  guard  over  it,  a  trusty  man,  with  a  tin  cup  to 
serve  it  out  only  by  direction  of  the  medical  officer, 
but  it  o-ave  me  much  trouble.  All  that  afternoon  the 
surgeon's  knife  flashed  lively,  and  arms  and  legs  and 
thighs  were  sacrificed,  but  not  without  thoughtful  care. 
Whenever  there  was  a  possible  chance  to  save  a  limb  a 
council  of  all  of  us  was  called  to  decide ;  and  as  sur- 
geon in  charge  of  the  hospital  I  was  held  responsible 
for  what  was  done.  This  was  the  most  anxious  part  of 
my  duty.  By  night  all  was  quiet  in  front  and  we  were 
tired  out.  All  tried  to  get  some  sleep.  It  was  late  in 
the  night  before  my  own  cares  allowed  me  to  rest,  and 
then,  where  should  I  lie  down  ?  A  cold  wind  was  blow- 
ing, and  we  shivered  in  our  scanty  clothing.  Every 
foot  of  sheltered  ground  was  covered  with  sleeping  men, 
but  near  the  operating-table,  which  was  under  a  tree  in 
the  house-yard,  there  lay  a  long  row  of  dead  soldiers. 
My  faithful  steward,  Cyrus  Brooks,  a  detailed  man 
from  the  First  Minnesota,  suggested  we  make  a  wind- 
break by  piling  them  up  against  the  remnants  of  a 
fence.  "We  did  so,  and  then  lying  down  behind  them, 
we  slept  soundly  until  morning. 

Soon  after  sunrise  I  rode  over  the  field  in  front  of  us 
to  make  sure  no  wounded  man  had  been  overlooked, 
and  only  those  who  have  visited  a  battle-field  on  a  hot 
summer  day  can  imagine  the  horrors  then  presented. 


288         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

E-ubens  must  have  seen  this,  for  he  painted  the  colors 
of  the  dead  just  as  I  saw  them  that  day. 

By  this  time  our  scanty  supply  of  food  was  ex- 
hausted, and  while  trying  to  hurry  up  the  commissary, 
Medical  Director  Hammond  called  me  to  one  side,  and 
said  the  bridge  across  the  Chickahominy  had  been 
washed  away  and  we  could  get  no  provisions  that  day. 
He  suggested  that  I  have  some  horses  quietly  killed. 
At  once  General  Sedgwick  gave  me  two  cavalry  horses 
and  allowed  a  detail  of  two  butcher-boys  from  the  First 
Minnesota.  We  led  the  horses  into  a  grove  near  the 
hospital,  and  in  a  very  short  time  some  beautiful  beef 
was  lying  on  the  skins  with  the  edges  carefully  turned 
under.  Another  detail  of  men  carried  it  to  the  hos- 
pitals, and  the  cooks  were  soon  making  soup  and  broth. 
This  was  served  out  to  the  wounded,  and  no  doubt 
helped  many  of  them  to  tide  over  that  critical  time. 

Meanwhile  burial-parties  were  clearing  the  field.  A 
pit  was  dug  some  one  hundred  feet  long  by  twelve  feet 
wide  about  half-way  between  Courtney's  house  and 
the  woods  out  of  which  the  enemy  came,  and  at  a 
depth  of  four  or  five  feet  they  came  to  water.  Into 
this  wet  hole  our  dead  were  laid  in  two  rows,  and  one 
above  the  other,  until  they  were  within  a  foot  of  the 
surface.  Then  the  dirt  was  piled  on  them,  and  I  doubt 
if  any  record  can  now  be  found  of  who  was  laid  there. 

In  the  afternoon  a  train  of  flat  and  box-cars  was 
backed  up  to  Fair  Oaks  Station,  and  as  fast  as  possible 
our  wounded  were  carried  to  it.  Several  captured  Con- 
federate surgeons  here  rendered  us  good  service,  and 
were  sent  with  the  wounded  down  to  White  House. 
Within  a  few  hours  the  wounded  were  all  gone  and 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL   DANIEL   HAND.  289 

the  hospital  broken  up.  The  singular  hesitation  of  our 
commander  having  prevented  us  at  this  time  from 
marcliino;  into  Richmond,  it  was  decided  that  Sumner's 
corps  should  remain  just  where  it  was ;  but  why  it  was 
necessary  to  put  men  into  camp  on  a  battle-field,  and 
subject  them  to  the  risks  not  only  of  the  fearful  swamp 
fever,  but  also  to  be  poisoned  by  the  emanations  from 
their  fallen  comrades,  I  never  could  understand. 

General  Gorman's  brigade  was  not  moved  at  all,  and 
my  own  tent,  which  was  next  to  that  of  the  general, 
was  just  in  the  edge  of  the  woods  so  often  mentioned, 
and  within  one  hundred  yards  of  tlie  horrible  pit  where 
our  men  were  buried.  Of  the  numerous  horses  killed 
at  Fair  Oaks  and  Seven  Pines  some  were  burned  and 
some  buried  in  shallow  holes,  and  with  the  hot  June  sun 
pouring  down,  the  smells  engendered  were  overpowering. 
Our  field  hospitals  were  soon  filled  with  the  sick,  and 
ambulances  were  kept  constantly  busy  hauling  the  worst 
cases  back  to  the  general  hospital  at  the  White  Hjouse. 

After  three  weeks  of  this  life  I  came  down  with  a  fever 
myself,  and  the  large  doses  of  quinine  that  were  given 
me  prevented  my  hearing  anything  for  days.  General 
Gorman  was  also  taken  sick,  and  had  to  be  sent  to  the 
rear,  leaving  Colonel  Sully,  of  the  First  Minnesota,  in 
command  of  our  brigade.  Finally,  on  the  evening  of 
June  28,  a  friend  came  to  the  tent  where  I  lay,  sick 
and  listless,  and  said  the  army  was  going  to  retreat, 
and  I  must  2:0  on  ahead  with  the  ambulances.  That 
roused  me,  and  in  a  few  minutes  I  was  on  my  horse 
and  re2:)orting  at  the  division  headquarters.  All  was 
bustle  and  confusion  then,  but  General  Sedgwick  sat 
silent  and  sad  in  a  corner.     As  I  went  up  to  him  he 

19 


290         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

said,  "Why,  doctor,  I  thought  you  were  sick,"  and 
when  I  said,  "  General,  this  is  no  time  to  be  sick,"  he 
took  my  hand  and  said,  "  You  are  right  there ;  it  is 
serious  work  we  now  have  to  do." 

I  think  that  was  the  saddest  night  I  passed  during 
the  war.  All  night  we  were  quietly  starting  the  regi- 
ments on  their  march,  and  about  daylight  we  as  silently 
followed  them.  Before  noon  we  could  hear  the  enemy 
coming  down  the  railroad,  and  we  had  to  march  lively 
to  get  to  Savage  Station  to  get  ahead  of  them.  That 
29th  of  June  was  one  of  the  hottest  days  of  the  season, 
and  when  we  reached  the  station,  about  five  o'clock, 
many  of  the  men  were  exhausted  and  fell  down  with 
sunstroke.  While  we  were  dragging  them  into  the 
shade  and  pouring  cold  water  over  them  an  order  came 
to  form  in  line  of  battle,  and  we  were  just  in  time  to 
meet  and  check  the  advancing  and  exultant  rebels. 
The  fight  was  short  but  bloody,  and  many  wounded 
from  the  First  Minnesota  then  came  on  my  hands.  It 
seemed  as  though  we  might  here  hold  our  ground ;  but 
the  burning  piles  of  stores  and  the  explosion  of  a  train- 
load  of  ammunition  which  had  been  run  out  on  the 
railroad  bridge  showed  us  we  were  in  full  retreat.  Our 
sick  and  wounded  in  large  numbers — I  believe  two 
thousand  five  hundred — were  collected  in  tents  about 
Savage  Station,  and  a  number  of  surgeons  being  detailed 
to  remain  with  them,  they  were  abandoned  to  the  enemy. 
All  night  we  marched  over  the  narrow,  muddy  road, 
the  sombre  quiet  of  the  men  being  in  marked  contrast 
to  the  hilarity  that  prevailed  as  we  marched  up  the 
Peninsula.  At  daylight  we  crossed  White-Oak  Creek, 
and  were  then  halted  for  a  short  rest.     We  were  near 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  HAND.  291 

enough  to  see,  two  hours  after,  the  crossing  of  one  of 
our  rear  guard  and  the  destruction  of  the  bridge  just 
before  the  enemy  reached  it.  This  30th  day  of  June 
was  another  hot  day,  and  our  men  suffered  much  as  we 
hurried  forward.  Soon  after  noon  our  division  was  or- 
dered to  take  position  on  the  right  of  Frazier's  farm  to 
meet  the  Confederates  coming  down  the  Charles  City 
road.  They  were  already  making  the  attempt  to  cut 
through  the  division  ahead  of  us. 

General  Sumner  here  commanded,  and  held  them 
back  until  about  four  o'clock,  when  a  most  determined 
attack  was  made,  and  it  looked  as  though  we  were  going 
to  be  beaten.  Colonel  Sully's  brigade  had  been  held  in 
reserve ;  and  seeing  him  considerably  in  advance  of  his 
men,  sitting  alone  and  watching  the  fight,  I  rode  up 
alongside  and  asked  him  how  it  was  going.  Shells 
were  tearing  up  the  dirt  all  about  him,  and  the  zip  of 
flying  bullets  was  incessant,  but  he  turned  and  said, 

"This  is  getting  hot,  and  I  am dry."    I  pulled  out 

a  flask  which  had  been  retained  for  extra  occasions,  and 
he  took  a  long  drink.  Then  he  said,  "We  will  ride 
up  to  the  general  for  orders."  As  we  reached  General 
Sumner  he  was,  in  his  usual  way,  swinging  his  spec- 
tacles in  his  hand,  and  just  then  a  bullet  broke  one  of 
the  glasses.  He  was  much  annoyed,  but  quickly  told 
Colonel  Sully  to  bring  up  all  the  reserves.  We  barely 
held  our  ground  until  darkness  came.  Before  sunset  I 
found  among  the  wounded  coming  to  the  rear  Captain 
Colville,  of  the  First  Minnesota.  Finding  a  quiet  fence 
corner  for  him  near  Frazier's  house,  I  slipped  off  his 
coat  and  found  a  ball  had  entered  his  chest  two  inches 
below  the  left  collar-bone.     It  was  a  dangerous  wound, 


292         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

and  I  told  him  he  must  keep  quiet.  Other  wounded 
men  occupied  my  attention,  and  it  was  near  midnight 
when  Colonel  Sully  sent  me  word  he  was  on  the  Quaker 
road,  moving  towards  Malvern  Hill,  and  for  me  to 
follow.  I  had  left  my  horse  hitched  near  Captain  Col- 
ville,  and  when  I  went  back  and  told  him  we  were  re- 
treating, and  he  must  be  left  behind,  he  just  pulled  his 
tall  form  from  under  the  fence  and  said,  "No,  he  would 
not  be  left."  I  did  not  think  he  could  make  the  march, 
and  we  had  no  sort  of  a  conveyance;  but  Major  Morgan, 
of  the  First  Minnesota,  came  round  hunting  for  his  men, 
and  offered  to  let  the  captain  ride  his  horse.  Captain 
Colville  would  not  accept  that,  but  took  a  firm  grip 
of  the  horse's  tail,  and  off  they  started.  Three  days 
after  I  found  the  captain  on  a  transport  at  Harrison's 
Landing. 

When  I  got  started  that  night  I  was  wholly  sepa- 
rated from  my  command,  and  just  followed  the  weary 
crowd.  Towards  morning  I  met  some  heavy  artillery 
coming  back,  and  in  the  faint  light  saw  it  was  being 
placed  on  a  hill  to  the  left  of  the  road.  I  knew  then 
that  this  was  to  be  our  next  stand ;  so  going  a  little  way 
in  the  woods,  I  tied  my  horse  to  a  tree  and  lay  down 
to  sleep,  the  first  time  for  three  days.  When  I  woke  it 
was  long  after  sunrise,  and  the  road  was  thronged  with 
men  who,  like  myself,  appeared  to  be  lost.  I  could 
find  no  one  who  could  tell  me  where  to  find  my  brigade, 
but  finally  was  directed  to  Haxhall's  Landing,  where  I 
found  General  Gorman,  Surgeon  Morton,  of  the  First 
Minnesota,  our  ambulance  train,  and  my  own  servant. 
They  soon  prepared  me  a  good  meal,  and  after  it  I 
again  went  off  to  sleep.     Here  Chaplain  Neill  found 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  HAND.  293 

me  early  in  the  afternoon,  and  said  a  dreadful  battle 
was  about  to  be  fought,  and  the  men  of  the  First  Min- 
nesota were  complaining  that  no  medical  officer  was 
with  them.  I  mounted  my  horse  at  once,  and  he 
piloted  me  to  the  position  of  our  brigade.  As  he  and 
I  rode  up  the  hill  at  Malvern,  about  four  or  five  o'clock, 
an  exciting  scene  was  before  us.  Our  artillery  was 
pouring  one  mass  of  flame  out  on  the  plain  beyond,  and 
the  smoke  was  so  thick  over  there  we  could  see  nothing ; 
only  the  rattle  of  musketry  was  heard,  and  stretcher- 
bearers  were  bringing  the  wounded  from  out  the  smoke. 

Even  here  a  ludicrous  thing  occurred  that  made  us 
laugh.  While  we  stopped  to  watch  the  battle  we  saw 
Private  Sproat,  who  acted  as  aide  to  General  Gorman, 
coming  up  the  hill  on  horseback.  A  bursting  shell 
fi-i^htened  the  horse  so  it  threw  him,  and  the  saddle 
coming  round  under  the  horse's  belly,  he  began  kick- 
ing and  racing,  and  then  ran  frantically  into  a  swamp, 
where  he  stuck  fast.  When  we  reached  our  division  we 
found  it  was  not  engaged  in  the  fight,  but  the  men 
were  drawn  up  in  line  as  a  reserve  and  were  protected 
by  the  hill.  Chaplain  Neill  and  I  rode  along  the  line 
and  spoke  to  our  own  men,  and  while  we  were  with  them 
General  McClellan  with  his  staff  came  along.  It  was 
the  first  time  I  had  seen  him  since  we  left  Fair  Oaks. 

When  darkness  stopped  the  battle  our  men  were 
allowed  to  lie  down  for  a  few  hours'  rest.  That  time  I 
spent  with  Colonel  Sully  at  General  Sumner's  head- 
quarters, under  a  tree,  where  had  collected  Generals 
Sedgwick,  Eichardson,  Meagher,  Burns,  with  a  bullet- 
hole  through  his  hat,  and  others.  They  were  discussing 
the   situation,  and  I  gathered   that   they  thought  we 


294         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

should  hold  that  position ;  but  while  they  talked  a  per- 
emptory order  came  to  continue  the  retreat  to  Harri- 
son's Landing. 

As  usual  we  got  started  about  ten  o'clock,  but  had  to 
move  slowly  on  account  of  the  darkness  and  the  crowded 
road.  Towards  morning  it  came  on  to  rain,  and  for  hours 
it  just  poured  down.  Somewhere  near  noon,  on  July  2, 
we  reached  Harrison's  Landing,  wet  and  hungry.  All 
the  buildings  at  Harrison's  had  already  been  taken 
as  hospitals,  so  going  to  one  of  them  I  found  a  kind 
surgeon,  who  gave  me  food  and  a  chance  to  dry  my 
clothes. 

The  men  were  not  so  much  depressed  by  this  retreat 
as  might  have  been  expected,  and  very  soon  they  were 
fixed  comfortably  and  enjoying  a  rest.  After  a  few  days 
Mr.  Lincoln  paid  us  a  visit,  and  we  all  remember  the 
kindly  face  he  turned  towards  us  as  he  rode  along  the 
lines  with  General  McClellan. 

Towards  the  end  of  July  I  was  ordered  to  take  charge 
of  a  general  hospital  at  Newport  News,  and  prepare 
it  for  the  reception  of  a  large  number  of  men.  By  the 
1st  of  August  I  had  two  thousand  beds  ready,  and  these 
were  all  filled  by  the  sick  and  wounded  left  behind 
when  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  went  back  to  support 
General  Pope.  Among  my  patients  here  was  Quarter- 
master Le  Due,  of  Hastings,  and  no  medicine  I  gave 
did  him  half  as  much  good  as  his  kindly  stories  and 
cheerful  disposition  did  me.     It  was  a  gloomy  time. 

By  the  1st  of  October  my  patients  were  well  cleared 
out,  and  I  was  ordered  to  close  the  hospital  and  report 
to  Major-General  Peck,  at  Suffolk,  Virginia,  as  medical 
director  of  the  forces  there. 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  HAND.  295 

This  outlying  post  was  designed,  I  suppose,  as  a 
menace  to  Petersburg.  It  was  strongly  fortified  and 
garrisoned  by  from  fifteen  thousand  to  thirty -five  thou- 
sand troops.  These  made  frequent  raids  into  the  coun- 
try south  of  the  James  River,  and  held  a  large  force 
of  the  enemy  to  watch  them.  All  through  that  winter 
we  had  many  wounded  men,  and  as  each  regiment  had 
a  good  hospital,  we  kept  them  there  and  watched  the 
result  of  different  kinds  of  wounds  and  of  treatment. 
The  corps  of  medical  officers  was  most  excellent,  and  as 
there  was  much  rivalry  as  to  who  should  have  the  best 
success,  we  learned  much  that  has  since  been  useful. 
At  night  there  was  much  poker-playing  going  on  among 
the  officers,  and  to  keep  the  doctors  away  from  that  we 
established  a  dissecting-room,  and  had  no  trouble  to 
provide  enough  defunct  negroes  to  keep  them  interested. 
From  April  17,  1863,  to  May  4,  we  were  besieged  in 
Suffolk  by  the  force  under  General  Longstreet.  Our 
loss  during  that  time  was  sixty  killed  and  two  hundred 
and  forty  wounded. 

On  May  18,  while  out  with  General  Michael  Cor- 
coran on  an  expedition  up  the  Petersburg  Railroad,  I 
was  with  another  officer  and  two  orderlies  drawn  into  an 
ambush,  and  captured  by  a  party  of  Mississippi  riflemen. 
When  ordered  to  halt  I  tried  to  get  away,  but  my  horse 
had  not  run  two  rods  before  he  fell,  shot  through  the 
neck,  and  I  went  sprawling  over  his  head.  As  I  tried 
to  rise  one  of  the  men  knocked  me  down  with  a  musket, 
and  I  knew  nothing  until  I  found  myself  being  dragged 
in  great  haste  into  a  swamp.  As  soon  as  I  came  to  my 
senses  the  men  holding  me  told  me  to  keep  still,  and 
asked  me  if  I  could  ride.     I  said  yes,  and  they  put  me 


296         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

on  one  of  the  orderly's  horses,  and  then  rapidly  fol- 
lowed a  by-path  through  the  woods.  A  whole  North 
Carolina  regiment  w^as  encamped  within  a  few  hundred 
yards  of  where  w^e  were  captured.  We  wandered 
through  the  bushes  most  of  the  night,  and  at  daylight 
crossed  the  Black  Water  River  at  Zuni  and  were  in 
a  Confederate  camp.  That  day  we  were  taken  some 
miles  down  the  river  to  General  Jenkins's  headquarters. 
He  received  us  pleasantly,  and  invited  the  other  officer 
and  myself  to  accept  the  hospitality  of  his  table  until 
such  time  as  he  could  send  us  to  Richmond.  We 
remained  there  about  twenty-four  hours  and  received 
much  kindly  attention  from  General  Jenkins  and  his 
officers.  From  the  time  I  came  to  my  senses  in  the 
swamp  I  had  no  cause  to  complain  of  any  ill  treatment. 
All  were  pleasant  and  sociable.  We  were  taken  to 
Weldon,  North  Carolina,  and  then  put  on  a  train  for 
Petersburg.  Reached  that  city  in  the  night,  and  were 
put  in  a  tobacco  warehouse  with  negroes,  deserters,  and 
all  sorts  of  prisoners.  It  was  a  tough  place,  and  we 
were  olad  enough  that  afternoon  to  be  marched  to  the 
depot  and  put  on  a  Richmond  train.  Here  my  good 
luck  came  in,  for  there  were  some  ladies  in  the  car, 
and  their  curiosity  being  excited  by  seeing  two  Yankee 
officers,  they  sent  a  young  artillery  officer  who  was  with 
them  to  ask  who  we  were.  When  I  told  him  I  was 
from  Minnesota,  he  said,  "  Do  you  know  my  uncle, 
Colonel  Sully  ?"  When  he  found  the  relation  I  had 
held  to  Colonel  Sully  he  was  very  gracious,  and  prom- 
ised to  see  that  we  were  sent  out  by  the  first  exchange 
boat  that  came  up.  I  supposed  that  was  all  talk,  but 
the  next  day  after  we  were  lodged  in  Libby  Prison  a 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL   HAND.  297 

guard  called  out  that  I  was  wanted  at  General  Winder's 
office.  On  being  conducted  there  I  found  the  nephew 
of  Colonel  Sully,  Lieutenant  Wheeler,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, had  brought  me  a  towel,  tooth-brush,  and  comb, 
and  a  bottle  of  applejack ;  and  he  said  he  had  seen 
Colonel  Ould,  the  commissioner  of  exchange,  and  my 
name  and  that  of  my  friend  were  down  for  the  first 
boat. 

Our  life  in  the  prison  was  not  hard.  I  was  in  a 
room  on  the  second  floor  with  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
six  other  officers,  and  we  were  so  crowded  we  all  had 
to  go  to  bed  at  once,  as  we  covered  the  floor  completely. 
We  had  two  meals  a  day,  such  as  they  were,  and  were 
divided  up  in  squads  so  each  could  have  a  chance  at 
the  stove  and  table.  Each  squad  appointed  its  cooks 
and  dishwashers.  I  was  a  dishwasher.  In  one  corner 
of  the  room  was  a  hydrant  and  a  sort  of  bath-tub,  and 
some  one  was  in  that  bath  about  all  the  time. 

After  two  weeks  of  this  life  I  was  getting  pretty 
tired,  when  one  evening  the  guard  announced  that  an 
exchange  boat  was  at  City  Point,  and  soon  after  Gen- 
eral Winder's  adjutant  read  out  the  names  of  those  who 
were  to  go  on  there.  IVIy  friend  and  I  had  not  been 
forgotten,  and  the  next  morning  we  were  called  up  at 
four  o'clock  and  marched  to  the  depot.  After  much 
delay  we  got  off  on  a  long  line  of  flat  cars.  Reached 
Petersburg  about  eight  o'clock,  and  after  another  long 
wait  there  were  finally  delivered  at  City  Point.  It  was 
late  in  the  afternoon  before  we  reached  the  steamer, 
and  I  was  taken  by  the  hand  by  that  noble  man.  Major 
John  E.  Mulford,  the  United  States  commissioner  of 
exchange.     Getting  back  to  Suffolk  in   June,  every- 


298         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

tiling  was  quiet,  and,  as  the  forced  trip  had  rather 
broken  me  down,  I  took  a  leave  of  absence  and  went 
North.  While  lying  sick  in  New  Jersey  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg  was  fought,  and  I  chafed  at  being  idle  when 
the  old  First  Minnesota  was  so  severely  handled.  Two 
weeks  later  I  visited  many  of  the  maimed  heroes  of  that 
regiment  in  the  Baltimore  hospitals. 

Returning  South,  I  found  Suffolk  abandoned,  and 
General  Peck's  command  at  Norfolk,  Virginia.  On 
August  11  General  Peck  was  transferred  to  Newborn, 
North  Carolina,  to  relieve  Major-General  Foster  in  tlie 
command  of  the  District  of  North  Carolina.  As  a 
member  of  his  staff  I  accompanied  him,  and  for  over 
two  years  following  had  charge  of  the  medical  depart- 
ment in  that  State.  The  troops  were  largely  scattered, 
and  I  was  compelled  to  travel  a  great  deal,  but  the 
large  hospitals  were  concentrated  at  Newbern.  We  had 
two  large  convalescent  hospitals  at  the  sea-shore,  on 
Beaufort  harbor,  and  in  summer  sent  them  most  of  the 
sick  who  could  travel.  This  no  doubt  saved  the  lives 
of  many  poor  fellows  broken  down  by  malarial  poison. 
This  poison  in  many  districts  was  almost  certainly  fatal 
to  those  exposed  to  it  after  nightfall.  Again  and  again, 
both  at  Newbern  and  Washington,  North  Carolina,  we 
had  sentinels  struck  down  insensible  and  dying  while 
on  duty.  So  often  did  this  hajopen  in  1863,  we  pro- 
vided for  it  by  having  surgeons  sit  up  all  night  and 
keep  hot  water  ready,  so  as  to  put  such  men  immedi- 
ately in  a  hot  bath.  This  course  saved  many  lives; 
but  so  powerful  an  effect  did  these  congestive  chills 
have  on  the  brain,  we  could  for  weeks  after  such  an 
attack  recognize  a  man  who  had  it  by  the  peculiar  ap- 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  HAND.  299 

pearance  of  his  eyes,  and  I  doubt  if  these  men  ever  fully 
recovered. 

A  perplexing  matter  at  Newbern  was  the  care  of  the 
negroes  and  white  refugees  who  had  congregated  there 
for  protection.  We  had  to  provide  quarters  and  rations 
for  them,  as  well  as  medical  attendance.  Here  I  saw 
many  of  the  noted  dirt-eaters,  people  who  ate  a  sort  of 
blue  clay,  and  became  thin,  wan,  and  dropsical.  These 
people  had  little  idea  of  civilized  life.  They  refused 
the  ox-tail  soup  and  the  fresh  beef  we  provided  for 
them,  and  clamored  all  the  time  for  meat,  meaning 
bacon,  or  ''siding,''  as  it  is  called  down  there.  They 
knew  no  other  kind  of  meat. 

Of  course  smallpox  followed  us,  and  soon  broke  out 
among  those  wretched  people.  We  built  pest-houses 
for  them,  and  at  one  time  I  had  under  my  care  two 
hundred  negroes  with  smallpox.  Brave  young  doctors 
who  came  to  us  from  the  North  volunteered  for  this 
service,  and  the  poor  creatures  were  not  neglected. 

At  first  we  had  great  difficulty  to  get  vaccine  virus, 
but  finally  the  surgeon-general  sent  me  from  Washing- 
ton a  large  invoice.  I  had  it  all  ground  up  in  a  mor- 
tar and  mixed  with  glycerin,  and  then  collecting  all  the 
medical  officers  who  could  be  spared, — some  twenty  or 
more, — we  had  the  provost-guard  one  Sunday  morning 
drive  all  the  negroes  in  town  out  on  a  long  bridge  over 
the  Trent  River.  The  doctors  then  vaccinated  each  one 
as  he  or  she  was  let  offi  Many  of  them  kicked  and 
screamed,  and  the  whole  garrison  turned  out  to  see  the 
performance.  Altogether  we  vaccinated  six  thousand 
that  day,  and  following  this  up  we  very  soon  checked 
the  spread  of  smallpox. 


300         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

Early  in  1864  many  of  our  regiments  were  sent  to  the 
James  Kiver,  and  the  Confederates  took  advantage  of 
their  absence  to  attack  us.  Under  the  lead  of  General 
Pickett  they  laid  siege  to  Newbern,  captured  some  out- 
posts, and  blew  up  a  gunboat  that  was  stationed  above 
the  town,  but  did  us  little  damage.  They  did,  however, 
capture  Plymouth,  North  Carolina,  with  General  Wes- 
sels  and  all  the  troops  under  him.  Before  we  heard  of 
this  disaster  General  Peck  sent  a  steamer  loaded  with 
ammunition  for  General  Wessels.  As  we  were  very 
anxious  about  them,  I  decided  to  go  along,  and,  as  it 
happened,  was  the  only  commissioned  officer  on  board. 
When  we  reached  Roanoke  Island  the  wildest  stories 
were  flying.  General  Hoke  had  besieged  Plymouth, 
and  the  terrible  ram  "  Albemarle"  was  prowling  about 
the  mouth  of  Roanoke  River  ready  to  pick  off  any  at- 
tempted succor.  The  steamboat  captain  was  panic- 
stricken,  and  refused  to  go  any  farther.  Knowing  the 
importance  of  getting  the  ammunition  through,  I  or- 
dered him  to  go  on.  He  begged  to  be  let  off,  and  said 
he  was  a  deserter  from  the  enemy,  and  if  the  ram  took 
us  he  would  be  hung.  I  told  him  I  would  see  that  he 
was  not  captured,  for  if  the  ram  came  alongside  I  would 
blow  up  the  boat.  He  was  afraid  of  me  after  that,  and 
did  as  I  told  him,  but  when  half-way  up  Albemarle 
Sound  a  gunboat  met  us  and  said  Plymouth  had  fallen. 

As  the  hot  weather  came  on  in  1864  all  were  more  or 
less  sick ;  but  as  everything  was  going  along  quietly  I 
allowed  a  number  of  our  medical  officers  to  go  North 
on  leave.  While  at  Norfolk  the  summer  before,  I  re- 
membered the  fearful  epidemic  of  1854,  and  was  much 
exercised  about  yellow  fever.     It  did  not,  however,  ap- 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  HAND.  301 

pear,  and  now  in  Newbern,  where  there  had  been  no 
epidemic  of  that  disease  since  1779,  I  did  not  think 
about  it  at  alL  Suddenly,  on  September  6,  different 
surgeons  reported  to  me  three  cases  of  some  peculiar 
fever.  I  went  to  see  one  that  had  just  died.  The  body- 
was  yellow,  and  there  had  been  persistent  vomiting. 
Neither  I  nor  any  of  the  medical  officers  in  Newbern 
had  ever  seen  a  case  of  yellow  fever,  but  this  startled 
us.  I  slept  none  that  night.  The  next  day  more 
cases  appeared,  and  Ordnance-Officer  Johnson,  at  our 
headquarters,  who  had  been  sick  some  days,  turned  yel- 
low and  died.  Then  we  were  scared.  We  knew  yellow 
fever  had  come.  The  disease  spread  rapidly,  the  epi- 
demic influence  apjDcaring  at  first  to  be  in  greatest  force 
in  vicinity  of  the  water  on  both  river-banks,  but  it  ex- 
tended soon  over  the  whole  town,  and  by  November  1 
nearly  every  person  in  the  place  had  gone  through  with 
an  attack  of  the  fever.  The  negroes  generally  had  it 
mildly,  as  did  also  the  children,  while  with  the  aged 
and  persons  recently  arrived  from  the  North  it  was  very 
fatal.  The  population  of  Newbern  at  that  time  was  esti- 
mated at  nine  thousand,  over  half  of  that  number  being 
negroes.  Of  the  white  citizens  and  soldiers  twelve 
hundred  died  between  September  6  and  November  1, 
and  of  the  negroes  about  one  hundred  and  fifty.  There 
were  no  native  physicians  in  Newbern,  so  all  the  sick 
had  to  be  cared  for  by  the  army  surgeons.  The  fatality 
among  them  was  very  great.  In  all,  during  the  epi- 
demic, we  had  on  duty  in  Newbern  twenty-three  medi- 
cal officers,  surgeons,  assistant  surgeons,  and  contract 
physicians  who  came  from  the  North  ;  of  this  number 
twenty-one  had  the  fever  and  eleven  died.     Only  those 


302         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

who  have  gone  through  a  grave  epidemic  can  under- 
stand the  condition  of  that  town.  The  very  air  seemed 
stagnant,  and  hung  like  a  pall  about  us.  To  stir  this 
up  hundreds  of  cords  of  pine  wood  and  of  barrels  of 
rosin  and  tar  were  burned  on  street  corners.  All  busi- 
ness was  suspended,  and  every  one  who  could  went 
away.  The  place  was  shunned  by  all.  So  powerful 
was  the  poison  that  officers  and  soldiers  arriving  from 
the  North  by  steamer,  and  riding  rapidly  from  the 
wharf  to  their  camps  out  in  the  woods,  would  in  a  few 
days  sicken  and  die.  Yet  the  disease  was  not  conta- 
gious, and  it  did  not  in  a  single  instance  spread  to  those 
in  the  camp  who  had  avoided  the  town. 

Brave  men  at  first  organized  a  burial  corps  and  went 
everywhere  caring  for  the  dead,  but  one  by  one  they 
died  from  the  disease  until  finally  only  Mr.  Polk,  an 
auctioneer,  was  left.  He  bravely  held  on,  and  daily  on 
the  street  could  be  seen  a  singular  procession, — a  negro 
driving  a  wagon  containing  a  rough  coffin,  and  followed 
only  by  Polk,  on  a  yellow  horse,  with  an  umbrella  over 
his  head,  a  prayer-book  in  his  hand,  and  a  bottle  of 
whiskey  protruding  from  his  pocket.  Another  proces- 
sion also  frequently  seen  was  a  negro  boy  carrying  a 
child's  coffin  on  his  head,  and  followed  by  the  weeping 
mother. 

My  own  cares  were  increasing,  and  as  my  friends 
daily  died  about  me  I  envied  the  rest  that  had  come  to 
them.  Strange  to  say,  I  went  through  the  whole  epi- 
demic unscathed,  and  it  was  late  in  November,  after  the 
whole  affair  was  over,  that  I  came  down.  I  turned  very 
yellow,  but  had  the  fever  mildly.  When  convalescent 
from  this  attack  of  the  fever  I  received  leave  of  absence. 


ADDRESS   BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  HAND.  303 

Stopping  at  Fortress  Monroe  to  report  to  General 
Butler,  our  department  commander,  I  found  he  was  at 
Bermuda  Hundred,  and  so  went  up  there.  At  General 
Butler's  headquarters  I  first  saw  General  Grant,  and  was 
impressed  by  his  quiet  yet  confident  manner.  Spend- 
ing several  days  with  ray  old  friends  in  the  different 
divisions  about  Petersburg,  I  found,  however,  that  the 
troops  did  not  share  in  General  Grant's  confidence. 
Everywhere  I  heard  the  same  story  about  fruitless 
movements  where  their  comrades  had  been  sacrificed ; 
and  it  appeared  to  me  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was 
sullenly  awaiting  to  be  slaughtered.  I  am  sure  those 
troops  were  more  discouraged  and  disheartened  then 
than  they  were  after  the  Seven  Days'  Retreat  to  Har- 
rison's Landing. 

Returning  to  Fortress  Monroe  with  General  Butler, 
I  was  kindly  entertained  at  his  quarters  there,  and  he 
appeared  to  be  more  interested  in  the  boring  of  an 
artesian  well  on  the  fort  grounds  than  about  the  ad- 
vance of  the  army. 

As  I  left  there  to  go  North,  Medical  Director  Mc- 
Cormick  told  me  to  come  back  as  quick  as  I  could,  as 
there  was  an  important  expedition  on  foot,  and  he 
wanted  me  to  go  with  it.  I  was  too  sick  to  get  back 
soon,  and  thus  lost  the  opportunity  of  accompanying 
the  two  expeditions  against  Fort  Fisher,  North  Caro- 
lina. When  at  last  I  did  get  back,  the  steamer  I  was 
on  reached  Beaufort  harbor  the  very  day  General 
Terry  made  his  successful  assault  on  that  fort.  Most 
of  his  wounded  were  brought  to  Beaufort  and  placed 
in  our  hospitals  there.  We  were  all  quite  surprised  by 
the  rapid  recoveries  made  by  these  men,  and  we  at- 


304         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

tributed  it  largely  to  the  exultation  they  felt  over  their 
victory. 

Soon  after  General  Terry  captured  Wilmington, 
North  Carolina,  I  went  down  there  to  inspect  the 
medical  department.  Some  eight  thousand  released 
prisoners  from  Salisbury  and  Andersonville  -had  just 
been  brought  down  the  Cape  Fear  Kiver;  and  over 
two  thousand  of  them  being  too  sick  to  go  on  board  the 
ordinary  transports,  had  to  be  cared  for  in  this  town. 
We  provided  shelter  for  them  in  the  churches,  halls, 
etc.,  and  all  the  doctors  had  their  hands  full.  Hun- 
dreds of  the  poor  2^i"isoners,  dirty  and  ragged,  had  lost 
all  semblance  of  humanity.  Sickness  and  starvation 
had  brought  them  to  a  perfect  state  of  idiocy.  They 
could  not  comprehend  what  was  said  to  them,  and  often, 
when  washed  and  clothed  and  put  on  a  hosjjital  cot, 
they  would  roll  under  it  on  the  approach  of  a  stranger, 
and  glare  out  at  him  like  some  wild  beast.  The  care 
of  these  men  required  the  greatest  firmness  and  gentle- 
ness. Fortunately,  we  had  an  abundance  of  medical 
officers  to  take  charge  of  them.  After  two  days  there 
General  Schofield,  who  had  arrived  and  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  department  of  North  Carolina,  directed 
me  to  return  to  Newbern  to  prepare  for  the  advance  to 
be  made  from  that  point.  The  Twenty-third  Corps 
had  arrived  there,  and  early  in  February  our  whole 
force  advanced  up  the  south  side  of  the  Neuse  E-iver. 
At  Kingston  a  fierce  but  short  battle  was  fought ;  and 
from  it  all  our  hospitals  at  Newbern  were  filled  with 
wounded. 

Under  a  law  which  passed  Congress  early  in  Febru- 
ary, 1865,  regulating  the  rank  of  medical  directors  of 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL  HAND.  305 

department  and  corps,  I  had  now  become  a  full  colonel, 
and  drew  the  pay  of  that  rank  until  the  close  of  the 
war,  although  I  received  no  commission. 

It  was  my  duty  to  rapidly  extend  the  hospital  accom- 
modations at  Newbern  and  Beaufort  to  accommodate 
the  sick  and  wounded  we  expected  General  Sherman 
to  have  when  he  reached  Goldsboro'. 

While  thus  kept  busy,  alarming  reports  began  to 
come  from  Wilmington.  A  low  form  of  fever  was 
carrying  off"  hundreds  of  our  men,  the  citizens  were 
dying,  and  some  of  our  best  surgeons  had  fallen.  As 
soon  as  possible  I  went  down  there,  accompanied  by 
Medical  Inspector  John  M.  Cuyler,  who  was  a  host  in 
himself. 

The  condition  of  affairs  was  worse  than  had  been 
reported.  The  number  of  deaths  daily  was  frightful, 
and  every  house  in  town  had  crape  on  the  windows. 
The  fever  was  violently  contagious  and  was  typhus. 
It  had  been  engendered  in  the  filthy  prison-pen  at 
Salisbury,  was  brought  down  by  the  released  prisoners, 
and  by  them  communicated  to  nearly  every  man  on  the 
steamboats  that  brought  them,  and  then  to  the  hospital 
attendants  and  the  citizens  of  Wilmington. 

Hundreds  of  negroes  had  fled  to  Wilmington  after 
its  capture.  This  fever  frightened  them,  and  they  went 
back  to  their  old  masters,  carrying  disease  and  death 
through  all  that  region. 

General,  now  Senator,  Hawley  was  in  command  at 
Wilmington,  and  took  every  possible  precaution  to  pre- 
vent the  spread  of  the  disease.  All  troops  were  en- 
camped outside  of  the  town ;  and  as  soon  as  we  could 
establish  a  large  hospital  at  Smithville,  at  the  mouth  of 

20 


306         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

Cape  Fear  River,  all  the  sick  that  could  not  be  sent 
North  were  taken  there. 

About  three  hundred  Union  soldiers  died  during  the 
four  weeks  of  this  epidemic,  and  among  them  nine  of 
our  bravest  medical  officers.  They  never  shrank  from 
duty,  and  freely  laid  down  their  lives. 

I  returned  to  Newbern  in  time  to  accompany  Gen- 
eral Schofield  to  Goldsboro',  and  there  witnessed  the 
famous  entry  of  General  Sherman  and  his  army,  about 
which  Colonel  Kerr  lately  told  us.  It  was  a  rough- 
looking  party,  bummers,  mules,  and  all,  even  to  the 
general  himself,  who  had  a  red  beard  nearly  half  an 
inch  long  sticking  out  all  over  his  face,  and  the  skin 
of  his  nose  peeling  off  from  the  effect  of  the  sun,  as 
usual.  All,  however,  were  in  the  best  of  spirits,  and 
we  went  into  camp  there  feeling  very  jolly. 

During  the  advance  on  Kaleigh  I  was  at  the  coast, 
looking  after  the  hospitals  and  transports. 

When  General  Sherman  proposed  the  terms  to  Gen- 
eral Joe  Johnston  which  caused  so  much  ill-feeling  in 
Washington,  General  Grant  was  sent  down  to  arrange 
matters.  He  had  a  rough  voyage  around  Cape  Hat- 
teras,  and,  landing  at  Morehead  City,  was  brought  up 
to  Newbern.  Here,  while  an  extra  train  was  being 
made  ready,  he  was  brought  to  my  quarters  to  rest. 
He  had  been  dreadfully  sea-sick,  and  he  looked  sad 
and  careworn.  I  accompanied  him  to  Raleigh,  and 
thought  he  might  well  be  called  "The  Silent  Man." 
He  scarcely  spoke  to  any  one  about  him. 

After  the  grand  army  had  gone  on  its  final  march  to 
Washington  there  was  much  yet  to  do  in  North  Caro- 
lina.    Large  numbers  of  sick  and  wounded  were  left 


ADDRESS  BY  COLONEL  DANIEL   HAND.  307 

on  our  hands,  and  while  working  with  them  during  the 
hot  weather  in  June  I  was  prostrated  by  an  attack  of 
pleurisy,  and  was  sent  North  on  a  hospital  steamer,  as 
my  friends  thought,  to  die.  Somehow  that  fate  was  not 
to  be  mine,  and  early  in  September  I  was  again  on  duty 
at  Raleigh.  General  Schofield  remained  for  a  time  in 
command  there,  but  was  soon  succeeded  by  General 
Terry.  He,  in  turn,  was  relieved,  and  General  Kuger 
assigned  to  the  command  of  the  department.  With 
this  thorough  officer  I  had  always  the  most  pleasant  re- 
lations, and  it  was  finally  by  his  order,  in  November, 
1865,  that  I  was  mustered  out  of  service. 


RECOLLEOTIOI^JS 

OF 

THE  MINE  RUN  CAMPAIGN. 

BY  LIEUTENANT-COLONEL   EDWIN   0.  MASON, 

FOURTH    U.    S.    INFANTRY,    BREVET   BRIGADIER-GENERAL   V.    S.    VOLUNTEERS. 


Gentlemen  ;  Companions, — I  speak  witli  diffidence 
upon  a  military  subject,  for  I  have  before  me  those  who 
took  an  active  and  distinguished  part  in  the  mighty 
conflict  that  covered  our  land  from  the  Susquehanna  to 
the  Gulf,  from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  to  the  plains 
of  Texas,  with  battle-fields,  leaving  on  cities,  towns,  and 
villages,  on  mountain  and  plain,  on  plantation  and  farm, 
over  an  empire  in  extent  of  territory,  scars  from  the 
iron  heel  of  war  which  time  has  not  yet  efikced. 

From  the  five  thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight  (5678)  battles,  skirmishes,  and  affairs  borne  upon 
the  records  of  our  War  Department,  and  which  go  to 
make  up  the  grand  aggregate  of  the  war  of  the  Re- 
bellion, I  have  selected  as  the  subject  of  this  paper 
one  brief  campaign  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, — that 
of  Mine  Run,  November,  1863, — an  operation  that,  as 
one  writer  justly  observes,  "  deserved  better  success 
than  it  met,"  for  the  campaign  was  carefully  planned, 
and  especially  in  preparation  for  the  attack  on  Decem- 

308 


ADDRESS  BY  LIEUT.-COL.  EDWIN  C.  MASON.      309 

ber  30,  the  details  were  elaborated  with  a  minuteness 
rarely  observed  in  our  armies. 

I  trust  I  may  be  able  to  interest  you  for  a  few  mo- 
ments as  I  briefly  tell  the  story,  and  incidentally  show 
how  important  events  are  made  to  hinge  on  trifles.  A 
few  remarks  by  way  of  preface :  In  midsummer  of  the 
year  1863  the  Confederate  government  resolved  upon 
an  invasion  of  the  Northern  States.  This  resolution 
was  born,  doubtless,  of  that  well-recognized  military 
principle  that  to  seize  the  opportune  moment  and  take 
the  offensive,  carrying  the  war  into  your  enemy's  coun- 
try, is  at  times  the  highest  wisdom ;  for  every  success 
increases  the  confidence  of  the  troops  in  themselves  and 
their  leaders,  while  the  hope  of  rich  spoil  and  abundant 
supplies  is  in  itself  a  powerful  incentive  to  the  most 
vigorous  action. 

In  the  case  of  General  Lee,  his  defensive  attitude, 
maintained  for  almost  a  year,  had  grown  very  distaste- 
ful to  the  Southern  people,  who  longed  to  see  the  war 
transferred  to  the  "  Yankee  States,"  as  they  pleased  to 
term  them. 

The  experiment  of  invasion  was  tried  and  Gettys- 
burg was  the  result.  The  close  of  that  engagement 
found  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  fine  spirits,  confi- 
dent of  its  ability  to  strike  a  finishing  blow  to  Lee's  de- 
moralized forces.  This  confidence  was  thoroughly  felt 
and  expressed  in  the  Sixth  Corps,  in  which  I  served, 
and  when  it  was  known  that  the  swelling  of  the  Potomac 
from  recent  storms  had  rendered  the  fords  impracticable, 
and  that  Lee  had  been  obliged  to  halt  at  Williamsport, 
pending  the  construction  of  a  pontoon  bridge,  it  seemed 
as  though  the  fate  of  his  army  was  sealed. 


310         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

Being  on  duty  as  general  officer  of  the  day  for  the 
Sixth  Corps  on  the  12th  of  July,  immediately  upon  our 
arrival  before  the  enemy's  position  I  made  a  careful  re- 
connoissance  of  his  lines  in  our  front  in  anticipation  of 
the  order  to  attack.  It  was  apparent  that  considerable 
confusion  existed  in  the  enemy's  corps,  and  that  vigor- 
ous ejfforts  were  being  made  to  increase  the  natural 
advantages  of  the  ground  for  defence.  The  spade  and 
pick  were  applied  unceasingly  during  the  12th  and 
13th,  and  during  those  two  days  of  inaction  on  our 
part  redoubts  and  rifle-pits  grew  before  our  eyes.  I 
have  always  thought  that  an  attack  on  the  12th  would 
have  been  successful. 

It  was  one  of  the  occasions,  in  my  judgment,  when  it 
would  have  been  well  to  have  taken  counsel,  as  Napo- 
leon often  did,  of  the  enthusiasm  and  spirit  of  the  sol- 
diers in  the  ranks  and  lower  grades  of  commissioned 
officers,  for  when  the  soldiers  are  anxious  to  attack  and 
are  confident  of  success  the  battle  is  half  w^on.  The  bayo- 
nets in  our  army,  above  any  other  known  to  history, 
thought.  A  movement  undertaken  against  the  sober 
judgment  of  the  soldiers  generally  miscarried ;  it  was 
rare  that  one  undertaken  with  their  hearty  approval 
did  not  in  the  end  succeed.  Cold  Harbor  on  June  2, 
1864,  is  an  instance  in  point.  For  weeks  the  army 
had  been  hurled  against  formidable  defences,  and  the 
awful  aggregate  of  sixty  thousand  killed,  wounded,  and 
missing,  in  the  series  of  engagements  from  the  crossing 
of  the  Rapidan  on  the  5tli  of  May  to  the  passage  of  the 
James  on  the  12th  of  June,  had  almost  been  completed. 
There  was  no  demoralization  in  the  ranks,  but  the  sol- 
diers felt  it  was  a  useless  waste  of  life  to  attempt  again 


ADDRESS  BY  LIEUT.-COL.  EDWIN  C.  MASON.      311 

to  storm  the  works  before  wliicli  thousands  of  their  com- 
rades had  gone  down  to  death  without  seeing  the  foe  or 
inflicting  upon  him  ai^preciable  loss.  That  morning,  in 
less  than  forty  minutes,  thirteen  thousand  men  had  been 
killed  and  wounded  in  a  fruitless  assault  on  works 
rudely  constructed  but  giving  complete  protection  to  the 
enemy,  who,  from  under  the  "  peep-log,"  as  it  was  called, 
could  deliver,  with  safety  to  himself,  a  deadly  fire.  So, 
when  General  Meade  issued  orders  to  renew  the  attack 
at  a  later  hour  that  day,  they  were  silently  disobeyed. 
The  appointed  hour  came  but  no  man  stirred,  and,  as  a 
military  writer  of  that  period  says,  "  The  lines  pro- 
nounced a  silent  but  emphatic  protest  against  further 
slaughter."  This  verdict  was  wisely  accepted  by  Gen- 
eral Grant,  and  his  plans  were  changed.  The  high 
spirit  with  which  the  subsequent  operations  were  carried 
on  before  Petersburg  and  Richmond,  though  scarcely 
less  arduous  than  the  Wilderness  campaign,  showed  that 
Grant  and  his  soldiers  were  in  accord. 

As  the  world  knows,  we  did  not  fight  at  Williams- 
port,  and  Lee  escaped.  The  subsequent  operations 
during  the  remainder  of  July  and  the  months  of 
August,  September,  October,  and  November,  I  will 
not  refer  to,  although  the  series  of  manoeuvres  between 
the  two  armies,  the  numerous  affairs  between  outposts 
during  Lee's  retreat  to  Culpeper,  the  attempt  on  the 
part  of  the  Confederate  commander  to  place  himself 
between  Meade  and  the  Capital,  foiled  by  Meade's  gen- 
eralship, and  the  return  to  the  lines  on  the  Rappahan- 
nock, are  full  of  striking  incidents.  These  movements 
were  conducted  through  the  most  beautiful  part  of  Vir- 
ginia, the  gentle  undulations  of  the  land  giving  opportu- 


312         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

nity  from  time  to  time  for  the  eye  to  sweep  over  a  vast 
range  of  cultivated  country  dotted  with  farm-houses  and 
laced  with  roads  over  which  the  several  corps  of  the 
army  stretched  for  miles,  the  sinuous  line  marked  by 
the  bright  sparkle  of  the  polished  muskets.  In  some 
cases  the  columns  moved  in  parallel  lines,  with  the 
wagon-trains  between,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  march 
on  Centreville  to  defeat  Lee's  plans,  the  rapid  move- 
ment was  enlivened  by  a  continuous  and  running  cav- 
alry and  horse-artillery  skirmish  on  the  left  flank.  At 
no  other  period  of  its  history  did  the  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac see  in  such  rapid  succession  the  alternate  lights 
and  shades  of  army  life  in  the  field  ;  the  change  within 
an  hour  from  the  comforts  and  amusements  of  a  well- 
established  camp  to  the  rapid  and  stirring  march ;  the 
bivouac  beneath  bright  autumn  skies ;  the  engagements 
between  corps ;  the  skirmishes  between  regiments  and 
detached  brigades ;  the  rush  through  a  day  or  a  night 
to  secure  an  important  position  ;  the  foraging  beyond 
the  lines  or  route  of  march,  with  its  resultant  affairs 
with  the  enemy's  parties  intent  on  the  same  errand ; 
and  last  (not  least  by  any  means),  the  pleasant  sojourn, 
all  too  short,  in  Warrenton,  and  other  towns  filled  with 
bright,  if  saucy,  Virginia  girls.  It  was  a  period  of  ideal 
soldiering,  and  is  all  the  brighter  in  retrospect,  coming 
between  the  swampy  peninsula  and  the  stern  work  that 
filled  the  days  the  following  summer  in  the  Wilderness 
and  on  the  James. 

An  incident  in  our  sojourn  at  Warrenton  comes 
back  to  mind.  Warrenton  had,  in  its  palmy  days  be- 
fore the  "wah,"  been  a  favorite  resort  for  the  Virginia 
aristocracy.     At  the  time  I  refer  to  it  was  filled  with 


ADDRESS  BY  LIEUT.-COL.  EDWIN  C.  MASON.      313 

the  wives  and  daughters  of  those  who  wore  the  Confed- 
erate gray.    You  all  know  how  freely  the  dear  creatures 
expressed  their  rebel  sentiments,  safe  in  the  immunity 
universally  granted  the  gentler  sex.     The  young  ladies 
of  Warrenton  indulged  themselves  in  their  favorite  pas- 
time of  abusing  the  "Yankees,"  without  in  the  least 
impairing  the  cordial  relations  that  seemed  to  exist  be- 
tween them  and  the  host  of  gentlemen — young,  and 
some  not  so  young — who  were  always  ready  to  play 
"squire  of  dames."    Riding  parties  by  day  and  dancing 
and  singing  by  night  made  the  old  town  alive  again. 
Near  my  headquarters  was  a  fine  old   mansion,  filled 
every  evening  with  pretty  girls,  who  were  always  ready 
to  sing  "My  Maryland,"  "'Way  down  South  in  Dixie," 
and  other  rebel  songs.     One  evening  it  was  evident 
there  was  something  unusual  astir.     We  were  at  last 
told  a  new  song  was  to  be  sung,  and  in  due  time  the  fol- 
lowing expressions  of  fraternal  love  were  warbled  forth 
by  a  melting  blonde : 

"  You  can  never  win  us  back  ;  never !  never ! 
Though  we  perish  in  the  track  of  your  endeavor; 
Though  our  corpses  strew  the  earth 
That  smiled  upon  our  birth, 
And  blood  pollutes  each  hearthstone  forever ! 

"  We  have  risen  to  a  man,  stern  and  fearless ; 
Of  your  curses  and  your  taunts  we  are  careless. 

Every  hand  is  on  its  knife, 

Every  gun  is  primed  for  strife, 
Every  palm  contains  a  life  high  and  peerless. 

"  You  have  no  such  blood  as  ours  for  the  shedding ; 
In  the  veins  of  cavaliers  it  had  its  heading ; 


314         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

You  have  no  such  stately  men 
In  your  abolition  den, 
"Who  march  through  death  and  danger,  nothing  dreading. 

"  Though  we  fall  beneath  the  fire  of  your  legions 
Paid  with  gold, — raurd'rous  hire  !  base  allegiance ! — 

For  ever}^  drop  you  shed 

We  shall  have  a  mound  of  dead, 
And  the  vultures  shall  be  fed  in  our  regions ! 

"  The  battle  to  the  strong  is  not  given 
While  the  Judge  of  right  and  wrong  is  in  heaven ; 

While  the  God  of  David  still 

Guides  the  people  with  His  will, 
There  are  giants  yet  to  kill,  wrongs  unshriven !" 

The  above  breathed  such  a  sweet  spirit  of  peace  and 
good  will,  and  there  was  such  an  absence  of  that  tone 
of  braggadocio  of  which  our  Southern  brothers  have 
sometimes  been  accused,  that  we  thought  it  deserved  an 
answer.     The  combined  efforts  of  our  corps  produced 

the  following,  which  was  sung  the  next  evening  by 

of  the  Fourth  Cavalry : 

"  Oh  !  yes,  we'll  win  you  back,  rebel  beauties. 
With  "  sugar  and  hard  tack"  to  your  duties ; 
Even  now  you  greatly  prize  the  glance  of  Yankee  eyes. 
And,  for  lovers,  Yankee  soldiers  well  they'd  suit  ye's  ! 

"  Our  camps  are  thronged  with  ladies  and  with  lasses, 
For  Salem  and  White  Plains  seeking  passes  ; 
Every  one  desires  a  guard,  and  thinks  it's  mighty  hard 
Tf  she  can't  get  lots  of  sugar  and  molasses. 

"No,  we've  no  such  men  as  yours  for  the  showing, — 
Of  *  cavalier'  descent  always  blowing  ; 
Of  convicts'  seedy  scions  transformed  to  Southern  lions: 
Forsooth,  you  have  great  cause  for  j^our  crowing! 


ADDRESS  BY  LIEUT.-COL.  EDWIN  C.  MASON.      315 

"  The  back-bone  of  tbe  '  so-called'  has  been  shattered, 
And  the  hordes  of  the  unholy  have  been  scattered  ; 
And  you  tremble  lest  the  walls  of  Sumter  on  you  fall, 
By  'monitors'  and  'swamp  angels'  battered. 

"  'Twould  be  hard  to  feed  your  vultures  in  these  regions, 
After  having  been  traversed  by  your  legions  : 
Every  cussed  thing  to  eat  they  stole  on  their  retreat, 

And  there's  nothing  left  but  chestnuts  and  persimmons." 

Our  doggerel  stemmed  somewhat  the  flow  of  rebel 
song  during  the  remainder  of  our  stay. 

But,  to  return  to  my  subject : 

The  engagement,  Saturday  afternoon,  November  7, 
closed  about  half-past  five  o'clock  with  the  brilliant 
charge  of  Russell's  division  of  the  Sixth  Corps  upon 
the  enemy's  works,  and  early  the  next  morning  the 
army  crossed  the  Rappahannock  and  moved  forward  in 
line  of  battle,  anticipating  an  engagement.  The  coun- 
try between  the  river  and  Culpeper  was  open,  only 
broken  by  clumps  of  trees  scattered  here  and  there 
over  the  plain. 

The  advance  of  the  Third  and  Sixth  Corps,  some 
thirty  thousand  strong  in  far-extending  lines,  was  an 
imposing  sight.  From  my  position  in  the  advance 
the  dark  masses  of  the  enemy  could  be  seen  between 
Brandy  Station  and  Culpeper,  and  it  was  first  thought 
that  Lee  would  offer  battle ;  but  we  were  not  long  in 
discovering  that  behind  the  veil  of  cavalry  he  was 
withdrawing  beyond  the  Rapidan.  Between  Brandy 
Station  and  Culpeper  we  found  the  evidences  that 
Lee  had  prepared  his  winter  quarters  in  that  vicinity. 
My  note-book  of  that  year  says,  "  Standing  at  Brandy 
Station,  on  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad,  one 


316         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

can  trace  for  miles  substantial  huts,  ranged  in  regi- 
mental and  brigade  lines.  These  huts  are  well  built 
and  furnished  roughly  but  comfortably  with  tables, 
chairs,  and  bunks."  It  was  evident  that  the  '  Rebs' 
had  not  anticipated  our  advance  beyond  the  Rappahan- 
nock, and  expected  to  enjoy  undisturbed  through  the 
winter  months  these  excellent  quarters.  They  must 
have  been  evacuated  in  great  haste,  for  dough  was 
found  in  the  bread-troughs  and  fresh  meat  in  the  bri- 
gade shambles.  I  noticed,  also,  that  the  prisoners 
taken  at  the  time  were  all  well  clothed,  and  shod  with 
the  English  army  shoe, — a  shoe  made  of  the  best 
material,  shod  with  iron  on  the  heel  and  fastened  with 
copper  rivets ;  so  vastly  superior  to  those  in  use  in  our 
army  as  to  excite  most  uncomplimentary  remarks  on 
our  contract  system. 

In  the  excellent  huts  referred  to,  and  in  those  our 
men  speedily  constructed,  the  army  settled  itself  for  the 
winter,  as  many  supposed;  but  I  knew  better,  for 
through  friends  high  in  rank  in  the  army,  sources  of 
information  were  open  to  me  not  generally  accessible. 
It  was  reported  the  President  had  said  to  General 
Meade,  after  Lee's  successful  passage  of  the  Potomac 
at  Williamsport,  at  the  close  of  the  Gettysburg  cam- 
paign, "  The  fruit  seemed  so  ripe,  so  ready  for  plucking, 
that  it  was  hard  to  lose  it."  It  is  a  matter  of  history 
that  Halleck  had  expressed  himself  so  sharply  at  the 
failure  to  press  the  pursuit  from  Gettysburg  that  Gen- 
eral Meade  tendered  his  resignation,  which  was  not  ac- 
cepted, Halleck  at  the  same  time  softening  his  harsh 
expressions.  The  recollection  of  those  events,  together 
with  the  failure  to  bring  Lee  to  a  decisive  engagement 


ADDRESS  BY  LIEUT.- COL.  EDWIN  C.  MASON.      317 

during  the  march  to  Centreville  and  back,  and  the 
pressure  of  public  opinion  in  the  North  for  what  Crom- 
well was  wont  to  call  a  "  crowning  victory,"  for  the 
failure  to  attack  at  Williamsport  for  a  time  cast  a 
shadow  on  Gettysburg,  and  the  Northern  people  did 
not  realize  that  the  fall  of  Vicksburg  and  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg  marked  the  highest  flow  of  the  wave  of  re- 
bellion, and  from  that  hour  the  cause  of  secession  was 
steadily  on  the  wane ;  the  draft-riots  in  New  York  in 
July  also — although  promptly  suppressed — had  left  a 
grand  swell  of  discontent,  fomented  and  encouraged  by 
copperhead  speakers  and  papers.  Inconclusive  opera- 
tions East,  West,  and  South  made  loyal  men  anxious 
and  impatient.  All  these,  I  say,  combined  to  make 
General  Meade  eager  to  strike  a  blow  before  the  storms 
of  winter  set  in. 

The  weather  invited  a  movement,  for  during  October 
and  November  it  was  exceptionally  good.  Occasional 
rains,  but  in  the  main  bright,  calm,  stormless  autumn 
days, — "  Golden  days  for  a  campaign,"  I  find  I  call 
them  in  my  journal. 

With  Lee's  best  lieutenant — Longstreet — away  with 
Bragg  in  Tennessee,  and  with  his  army  scattered  over 
some  forty  miles  of  country,  a  movement  to  turn  his 
right  flank  and  interjDOse  between  Ewell — stretching 
from  Morton's  Ford,  on  the  Kapidan,  to  Orange  Court- 
House — and  Hill,  scattered  in  cantonments  along  the 
railroad  from  that  place  to  Charlottesville,  with  the  bulk 
of  his  force  near  that  village,  and  with  a  gap  of  several 
miles  between  the  corjDs,  seemed  to  promise  success.  To 
pierce  the  enemy's  centre  and  overwhelm  him  in  detail 
was  a  movement  frequently  practised  by  the  great  mas- 


318         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

ter  in  the  art  of  war,  and  with  him  it  rarely  failed,  be- 
cause Napoleon  treated  blunders  in  matters  of  detail  as 
crimes,  and  the  offender  rarely  escajDcd  due  punishment. 
So  far  as  I  know,  the  omissions  and  negligences  by  which 
this  most  promising  movement  was  wrecked  were  never 
so  much  as  noticed.  General  Meade  and  the  weather 
bore  the  blame. 

The  series  of  operations  known  as  the  "  Mine  Run" 
campaign  were  decided  upon,  and  orders  issued  at  four 
o'clock  A.M.,  the   15th  of  November,  to   be  ready  to 
move  at  a  moment's  notice  with  ten  days'  rations  and 
no  wagons  except  the  artillery  trains.    But  the  weather, 
which  for  days  had  been  delightful,  broke  that  morning 
soon  after  daylight,  and  a  furious  storm  of  wind  and 
rain  swept  down  from  the  Bhie  Ridge  Mountains  upon 
our  camps.     The  order  was  suspended,  and,  although  a 
succession  of  pleasant  days  followed  the  storm  of  the 
15th,  no  movement  was  made,  and  it  was  not  until  mid- 
night  of  the  24th  that  marching  orders  were  again 
issued.     We  were  to  start  at  four  a.m.     By  that  time 
another  storm  had  set  in,  and  the  order  to  move  was 
suspended.     Thanksgiving   morning,  the  26th,  broke 
clear  and  cool,  and  the  troops  finally  left  their  camps 
in  high  spirits  at  the  prospect  of  an  active  campaign. 
The  plan  of  the  campaign  was  as  follows :  Lee  having 
left   the   lower   fords   of  the  river  at  Ely's,  Culpeper 
Mine,  Germanna,  and  Jacob's  Mill  uncovered,  Meade 
proposed  to  cross  the  Rapidan  in  three  columns, — the 
Fifth  Corj)s,  followed  by  the  First,  at  Culpeper  Mine; 
the  Second  Corps  at  Germanna ;  the  Third  Corps,  fol- 
lowed by  the  Sixth,  at  Jacob's  Mill ;  and  to  concentrate 
his  army  across  the  turnpike  and  plank  roads  leading 


ADDRESS  BY  LIEUT.-COL.  EDWIN  C.  MASON.      319 

from  Fredericksburg  to  Orange  Court-House.  Our  left 
was  to  rest  at  Parker's  Store  and  the  right  at  Robert- 
son's Tavern ;  the  distance  between  tliese  places  was 
three  and  a  half  miles.  Then,  by  advancing  westward 
to  Orange  Court-House,  twenty-one  miles  distant  over 
the  parallel  roads  named,  Meade  would  turn  the  enemy's 
right,  flank  his  defensive  line  on  Mine  Hun,  and,  by 
making  a  lodgment  at  Orange  Court-House  and  Gor- 
donsville,  interpose  between  the  wings  of  Lee's  army, 
and  be  able  to  strike  them  in  detail. 

General  Lee  depended  for  the  protection  of  his  right 
flank  on  the  natural  advantages  for  defence  afforded  by 
the  broken  ground  bordering  on  Mine  Run,  a  small 
stream  emptying  into  the  Rapidan  about  two  and  a 
half  miles  above  Jacob's  Mill.  It  was  rumored  this 
line  was  partially  intrenched.  If  such  was  the  case 
above,  it  was  known  that  the  works  did  not  extend  as 
far  south  as  the  plank  road  and  turnpike.  The  dis- 
tance from  Brandy  Station,  which  was  about  the  centre 
of  our  line  of  encampment,  to  Robertson's  Tavern,  was 
about  fifteen  and  one-half  miles  in  an  air-line,  and 
nineteen  and  one-half  miles  by  the  Stevensburg  road, 
crossing  at  Germanna  Ford.  None  of  the  corps  had 
over  twenty  miles  to  march  to  the  point  of  concentra- 
tion. Of  the  four  elements  in  this  problem  three  were 
time,  space,  and  weather.  Assuming  the  last  to  be 
favorable,  the  other  two  were  matters  of  mathematical 
calculation.  The  fourth  element  was  always  prominent 
in  our  rather  loosely  disciplined  armies, — viz.,  the  pre- 
cise, prompt,  and  vigorous  execution  of  orders.  The 
scrupulous  observance  of  not  only  the  letter  but  tlie 
spirit  of  the  instructions  governing  a  movement  which 


320         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

leaves  nothing  undone  that  thoughtfulness,  skill,  and 
energy  can  compass  to  secure  success. 

The  First  and  Fifth  Corps  crossed  the  Rapidan  at 
Culpeper  Mine  Ford ;  the  Second  Corps  some  four 
miles  above  at  German na  Ford ;  and  the  Third  and 
Sixth  Corps  one  and  one-half  miles  farther  up  the 
river  at  Jacob's  Mill  Ford.  When  the  head  of  our 
column  (the  Third  Corps)  arrived  at  the  Kapidan  it 
was  found  "some  one  had  blundered;"  the  pontoon 
bridge  was  too  short  to  span  the  stream.  Hours  were 
lost  from  this  cause,  and  it  was  after  midnight  before 
the  passage  was  effected.  This  delay  was  exceedingly 
tedious  to  the  men,  for  after  advancing  a  few  yards  the 
line  would  halt  and  in  a  few  minutes  move  forward  to 
be  again  checked  before  a  dozen  stej)s  were  taken. 
Besides  their  clothing  and  sixty  rounds  of  ammunition, 
each  man  carried  ten  days'  coffee,  hard  bread,  and  pork. 
Since  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  they  had  been  on 
their  feet  with  their  heavy  packs  on  their  backs,  and,  as 
there  seemed  to  the  men  to  be  no  prospect  of  relief  from 
the  snail-like  march  the  shout  of  "Coffee"  !  "  Coffee"  ! 
began  about  ten  o'clock  to  run  up  and  down  the  line. 
Soon  after  eleven  General  Sedgwick  gave  the  order, — 
"  Ten  minutes'  rest  for  coffee."  This  order  was  passed 
with  shouts  down  the  column  stretching  for  miles  along 
the  forest  road,  and  in  a  few  moments  thousands  of  little 
fires  were  illuminating  the  woods  and  the  men  were  busy 
making  the  grateful  beverage.  Soon  after  crossing  the 
river  the  Sixth  Corps  was  closed  in  mass  and  bivouacked. 
It  was  thirteen  hours  after  the  time  appointed  for  the 
crossing  of  the  river,  and  the  Third  Corps,  the  advance 
of  our  column,  was  five  miles  short  of  its  objective. 


ADDRESS  BY  LIEUT.-COL.  EDWIN  C.  MASON.      321 

111  the  morning  the  columns  began  their  march 
through  the  narrow  tracks,  misnamed  roads,  threading 
the  dense  forest  called  the  "  Wiklerness."  "  The  Wil- 
derness" will  always  have  an  ominous  sound  in  North- 
ern ears,  for  its  gloomy  thickets  have  been  drenched 
with  some  of  the  best  blood  of  the  Union.  It  is  a 
region  lying  south  of  the  Rapidan,  west  of  Fi-edericks- 
burg,  and  east  of  Gordonsville.  In  the  Colonial  days, 
and  later,  the  veins  of  iron  ore  found  here  and  there 
had  been  worked,  the  furnaces  to  smelt  the  ore  being 
fired  by  fuel  cut  from  the  forests  thickly  covering  the 
land.  The  soil  in  places  had  also  been  found  adapted 
to  the  cultivation  of  tobacco.  As  the  mines  became 
unproductive  and  the  soil  unfit  for  the  profitable  raising 
of  the  tobacco-plant,  the  territory  was  abandoned  to 
nature.  In  time  the  entire  tract  of  many  miles  in  ex- 
tent became  so  thickly  overgrown  with  pine  and  scrub- 
oak,  interlaced  with  brambles  and  trailing  vines,  that  a 
dog  could  scarce  force  his  way  through.  A  few  made 
roads  traversed  the  region,  and  many  cart-tracks  could 
be  found  tempting  the  unwary  to  follow  them,  to  find 
at  last  that,  as  they  began  anywhere  they  as  certainly 
led  nowhere. 

It  goes  without  question  that  an  officer  charged  with 
the  conduct  of  a  column  through  such  a  labyrinth 
should  have  a  clear  idea  of  where  his  objective  lay  and 
sood  reliable  ojuides  to  take  him  there.  The  Third 
Corps  got  on  to  the  wrong  road  soon  after  crossing  the 
river,  and  striking  Johnston's  division  of  Ewell's  corps 
brought  on  a  hot  fight.  The  Second  Division  of  the 
Sixth  Corps  was  pushed  forward  to  French's  assistance, 
and  the  battle  of  Locust  Grove  closed  only  with  night- 

21 


322         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

fall  when  the  enemy  retired.  The  delay  in  crossing 
the  river  and  the  inopportune  encounter  with  Ewell 
had  lost  us  the  twelve  hours  on  which  the  success  of 
the  first  part  of  the  plan  depended.  The  rebel  army 
was  awake  and  fast  closing  its  scattered  divisions.  The 
next  day,  Saturday,  the  28th,  the  Sixth  Corps,  under 
General  Sedgwick,  passed  French  and  the  Third  Corps, 
and  took  the  lead  in  the  day's  march.  Our  advance 
was  retarded  by  the  enemy  contesting  every  foot  of 
ground.  I  was  in  command  of  the  skirmishers,  and 
found  it  difficult  to  cover  the  head  of  the  right  column 
in  a  country  so  broken  by  ravines  and  hills,  swampy 
streams  and  dense  underbrush.  The  dark  clouds  that 
covered  the  sky  in  the  morning  soon  dissolved  in  heavy 
rain.  Our  movements  were  necessarily  slow,  not  only 
on  account  of  the  nature  of  the  country,  but  in  order 
to  give  time  for  the  centre  and  left  columns  (the  Second, 
First,  and  Fifth  Corps)  to  swing  into  position. 

Sunday  morning,  the  29th,  broke  cold  and  dark,  and 
although  not  raining  it  was  so  misty  that  it  was  difficult 
to  see  in  the  dense  forest.  As  we  advanced  the  woods 
became  thinner,  patches  of  open  country  and  cultivated 
fields  here  and  there  showed  we  were  approaching  the 
western  verge  of  the  Wilderness.  About  3  p.m.  my 
force  debouched  from  the  woods,  and  we  could  see  the 
lines  of  the  enemy  on  the  hills  overhanging  the  valley 
and  stream  of  Mine  Kun.  The  covering  force  with 
which  we  had  all  day  been  fighting  fell  back  into  the 
strong  works  fringing  and  crowning  the  hills  on  the 
opposite  side  of  a  narrow  valley.  There  was  just  time 
enough  before  night  closed  in  to  make  disposition  of 
the  pickets   and  to  closely  reconnoitre  the  position  in 


ADDRESS  BY  LIEUT.-COL.  EDWIN  C.  MASON.      323 

our  front.  We  were  now  confronting  the  enemy  in  his 
strong  lines  on  Mine  Kun,  lines  of  which  we  had 
heard  through  our  spies,  and  which  General  Meade  had 
hoped  to  avoid  by  his  well-planned  strategic  movement. 
A  writer  on  the  war  says,  "  The  Confederate  line  was 
drawn  along  a  prominent  ridge  or  series  of  heights  ex- 
tending north  and  south  for  six  or  eight  miles.  This 
series  of  hills  formed  all  the  angles  of  a  complete  forti- 
fication, and  comprised  the  essential  elements  of  a  fort- 
ress. The  centre  of  the  line  presented  four  or  five 
well-defined  facings  of  unequal  length,  occupying  a 
space  of  more  than  three  thousand  yards,  with  such 
angles  of  defence  that  the  fire  of  the  enemy  was  able 
to  enfilade  every  avenue  of  approach,  while  his  right 
and  left  flanks  were  not  less  strongly  2)rotected.  Stretch- 
ing immediately  in  the  rear  and  on  the  flanks  of  this 
position  was  a  dense  forest  of  heavy  timber,  while  some 
twelve  hundred  yards  in  front  was  Mine  Run,  a 
stream  of  no  great  width,  but  difiicult  for  infantry  to 
cross  from  the  marshy  ground  and  dense  undergrowth 
of  stunted  timber  with  which  it  was  frequently  flanked 
on  either  side,  as  well  as  from  the  abrupt  nature  of  its 
banks.  In  addition  to  these  natural  defences  the  enemy 
quickly  felled  in  front  of  a  large  extent  of  his  position 
a  thick  growth  of  jiine  as  an  abatis,  and  hastily  con- 
structed trenches  and  breastworks  for  infantry.  The 
position  was,  in  fact,  exceedingly  formidable." 

This  admirable  description  by  Swinton  is  strictly  cor- 
rect, except  that  in  front  of  the  position  of  the  Sixth 
Corps  on  our  right  the  valley  was  much  less  than  one 
thousand  yards  in  width,  and  comparatively  free  from 
underbrush,  and  the  heavy  timber  covered  the  heights 


324         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

occupied  by  the  enemy,  from  their  crown  to  their 
base. 

Sunday  evening,  the  29th,  found  the  army  in  posi- 
tion :  Sedgwick  on  the  right,  Warren  some  six  miles 
away  on  the  left;  French  held  the  centre.  As  the 
result  of  his  reconnoissance  and  flank  march  on  the 
28th  and  29th,  Warren  reported  he  had  found  the  ex- 
treme right  of  the  enemy's  defences,  and  was  confident 
he  could  take  them  in  reverse.  I  knew  General  War- 
ren well.  He  was  as  gallant  a  soldier  as  the  army  con- 
tained. A  man  of  decided  military  talent,  fertile  in 
resources,  and  always  sanguine  of  the  success  of  any 
plan  he  might  mature.  I  think  if  he  had  followed  his 
impulses  and  attacked  on  the  evening  of  the  29tli  he 
might  have  been  successful ;  but  the  hours  of  the  long 
winter's  night  enabled  Lee  to  make  such  new  disposi- 
tions of  his  troops  as  to  entirely  change  the  aspect  of 
affairs.  Acting  on  Warren's  report  and  Sedgwick's 
suo-o-estions,  General  Meade  resolved  to  attack  on  both 
wings  early  the  following  morning.  Two  divisions  were 
detached  from  the  Third  Corps,  under  French,  in  the 
centre,  and  one  division,  the  Third,  from  the  Sixth 
Corps,  on  the  right,  and  sent  to  reinforce  Warren, 
giving  him  about  twenty-six  thousand  men.  Sedgwick 
was  to  attack  on  the  right  with  the  Sixth  Corps  sup- 
ported by  the  Fifth. 

The  winter  night  closed  in  with  a  clear  sky,  a  bright 
moon,  and  keen  frosty  air.  It  was  about  eleven  o'clock 
when  I  was  summoned  to  report  at  the  headquarters  of 
the  division.  A  brisk  ride  of  a  mile  brought  me  to  a 
spot  where  the  regimental  and  brigade  commanders  of 
the  corps  were  assembled,  standing  in  groups  around  a 


ADDRESS  BY  LIEUT.-COL.  EDWIN  C.  MASON.      325 

log  fire.  General  Howe,  our  division  commander,  was 
walking  back  and  fortli  before  this  fire  with  folded  arms 
and  thoughtful  countenance.  The  scene  was  most  pic- 
turesque :  the  bright  firelight,  the  crowd  of  uniformed 
figures,  the  dark  shade  of  the  surrounding  evergreens 
through  which  came  the  tramp  of  restless  horses  and 
the  occasional  gleam  of  the  accoutrements  of  the 
mounted  orderlies  of  the  officers  assembled ;  while 
above  in  the  clear  sky  sailed  the  full  moon,  tipping 
with  silvery  light  the  frosted  tree-tops.  A  hush  of  ex- 
pectation hung  over  the  assembly  ;  a  few  words  of  greet- 
ins:  to  each  arrival  was  almost  all  the  conversation  heard. 
It  was  an  extraordinary  thing  to  thus  assemble  the  offi- 
cers. Any  disclosure  of  the  plans  of  an  attack  or  a 
movement  to  be  made  was  unprecedented.  Therefore 
each  one  waited  with  some  curiosity  the  revelations  to 
be  made.  At  length  a  staff  officer  informed  the  gen- 
eral that  all  those  summoned  were  present.  Pausing  in 
his  walk,  and  with  a  movement  of  his  hand  calling  the 
officers  around  him,  he  said,  "  Gentlemen,  General 
Meade  has  determined  to  attack  the  enemy  early  to- 
morrow morning  upon  both  flanks  at  the  same  time, 
and  to  attempt  the  capture  of  his  works  uj^on  this  flank 
by  assault.  This  attack  is  to  be  made  by  the  Fifth  and 
Sixth  Corps,  closed  in  mass."  After  a  few  more  words 
of  instruction  relative  to  the  point  of  assembly,  the  plan 
of  attack,  etc.,  the  assemblage  was  dismissed.  I  was 
requested  to  remain.  When  we  w^ere  alone  the  general 
said,  "  You  have  commanded  the  advance  for  two  days 
and  know  the  ground  well ;  I  wish  you  to  lead  this 
assault;"  and  then  added  a  few  words  regarding  the 
importance  of  my  force  making  a  successful  lodgment 


326         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

in  the  enemy's  first  line  in  order  to  give  the  massed 
corps  an  opportunity  to  pass  the  marshy  "  Kun"  suc- 
cessfully. After  further  conversation  regarding  the 
regiments  to  be  detailed,  the  signal  for  attack,  etc.,  I 
mounted  and  rode  away. 

The  next  three  hours  were  busy  ones.  Two  regi- 
ments of  well-established  reputation  were  selected,  both 
"Yankee"  of  the  bluest  blood,  tried  New  England  men, 
one  from  Maine,  the  other  from  the  Vermont  brigade 
commanded  by  General  Grant  (a  member  of  this  com- 
mandery),  men  hardened  and  keen-edged  as  the  trusty 
blade  of  tempered  steel  wrought  into  shape  by  the  fire 
and  hammer  of  war.  These  regiments  were  to  be  placed 
in  position  so  close  to  the  enemy's  pickets  that  in  a 
moment  after  the  advance  was  sounded  they  would  be 
on  them  and  capture  or  dis^Derse  them  at  a  blow.  There 
must  be  no  halt,  no  hesitation,  no  stop  nor  check  to  the 
on-rush.  The  intelligence  that  characterized  the  mass 
of  our  army  was  specially  marked  in  these  veteran 
soldiers.  The  brief  instructions  were  understood  by  the 
officers,  and  the  details  of  a  military  movement  rarely 
practised  on  the  drill-ground  were  so  carefully  exe- 
cuted that  the  line  was  deployed  and  placed  in  position 
within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  stream  upon  whose 
farther  bank  the  pickets  of  the  enemy  were  posted. 
All  this  was  accomplished  under  the  bright  rays  of  the 
moon,  and  on  the  edge  of  the  timber  that  at  this  point 
on  our  side  came  to  the  brow  of  the  slope.  The  woods 
to  the  right  and  left  were  here  and  there  broken  either 
by  meadow  or  cultivated  fields. 

From  our  position  the  hill  sloped  abruptly  with  a 
descent  of  about  fifty  feet  to  the  ground  below.     From 


ADDRESS  BY  LIEUT.- COL.   EDWIN  C.  MASON.      327 

the  foot  of  the  slope  the  land  is  level  to  the  creek,  which 
winds  with  many  a  turn  through  the  valley.  Its  banks 
are  high  and  broken.  The  stream  has  cut  its  way 
through  the  soft  meadow,  until  its  bed  is  in  many 
places  from  six  to  eight  feet  below  the  general  surface. 
It  is  known  that  the  banks  are  overhanging,  only  held 
in  place  by  the  thick  sod,  and  are  ready  to  crumble 
and  fall  with  a  touch.  Beyond  the  stream  the  ground 
is  level  for  some  hundred  yards;  then  the  hill  rises 
sharply  for  full  five  hundred  feet,  sloping  back  for 
three  hundred  more  less  steeply.  Three  lines  of  in- 
trenchments  can  be  plainly  traced  by  the  light  of 
flickering  camp-fires.  The  first  line  is  at  the  foot  of 
the  heights,  skilfully  placed  to  sweep  the  level  ground 
in  front  with  artillery  and  infimtry  fire.  The  hum  of 
voices  can  be  heard  in  the  still  night,  and  the  occa- 
sional rumble  of  artillery  wheels  on  the  frozen  ground 
tells  that  movements  are  afoot.  Half-way  up  the  hill 
sparkles  of  light  through  the  trees  mark  a  second  po- 
sition, while  the  flash  of  bivouac-fires  beyond  and  higher 
shows  that  the  hill  is  covered  with  men  to  its  very 
crown.  Following  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  the  eye  can 
trace  the  rebel  line  to  its  left  until  it  is  lost  in  the  dis- 
tance. The  military  problem  to  be  solved  in  the  morn- 
ing is  to  get  down  the  slope  into  the  creek,  up  its 
muddy,  slippery  banks  on  the  other  side,  disperse  the 
rebel  pickets,  cross  the  open  ground  beyond  and  make 
a  lodgment  in  the  enemy's  first  line,  and  so  occupy  his 
attention  as  to  permit  the  passage  by  the  massed  corjDS 
of  the  stream  and  narrow  valley  without  check.  It  was 
a  fortunate  circumstance  that  we  were  so  close  to  the 
enemy  that  his  guns  could  be  counted,  and  the  diffi- 


328         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

culties  to  be  encountered  fully  estimated  before  we  were 
called  upon  to  meet  them. 

A  short  distance  back  from  the  crest  of  the  hill,  and 
under  the  friendly  shelter  of  the  pine-woods  and  dense 
thicket,  the  Sixth  and  Fifth  Corps,  some  twenty-five  or 
twenty-eight  thousand  men  in  all,  were  about  two  a.m. 
massed  in  column  by  division.  This  mighty  force  was 
so  closely  packed  that  one  could  almost  have  walked 
from  the  front  to  the  rear  on  the  heads  and  shoulders 
of  the  men.  My  instructions  were  that  the  attack  was 
to  be  made  early  in  the  morning,  Warren  to  open  the 
ball,  and  when  his  success  seemed  secured  a  signal  from 
the  siege-guns  at  army  headquarters  would  put  Sedg- 
wick in  motion.  I  was  to  dash  forward  at  the  signal 
without  further  orders, — one  gun ;  then,  after  an  in- 
terval of  five  in  quick  time,  two  in  quick  succession. 

The  hours  pass  on,  and  the  night  grows  colder  each 
moment.  My  men  were  lying  without  blankets  or 
cover;  not  a  word  could  be  spoken,  much  less  could 
they  exercise  themselves  for  warmth,  for  the  enemy's 
pickets  were  in  plain  sight,  and  an  incautious  movement 
might  betray  us  to  the  wakeful  foe.  More  than  one 
man  froze  to  death  that  night  at  his  post.  The  gra}^ 
light  of  the  morning  began  to  show  in  the  east,  and  as 
it  broadened  the  hour  for  Warren's  attack  was  at  hand. 
My  recollection  is  that  he  was  to  open  at  the  first  gleam 
of  dawn.  As  the  light  grows  brighter  each  moment,  the 
imj)atience  increases  that  no  sounds  come  from  the  left. 
The  enemy  can  be  seen  stirring  in  his  camp,  and  each 
moment  increases  the  danger  of  discovery.  It  is  fully  an 
hour  beyond  the  appointed  time,  when  suddenly  the  signal 
guns  are  heard  and  the  artillery  opens  from  the  centre. 


ADDRESS  BY  LIEUT.- COL.  EDWIN  C.  MASON.      329 

With  the  first  boom  of  the  signal-gun  the  boy  bugler 
crouching  by  my  side  jumps  to  his  feet,  and,  with  his 
bugle  at  his  lips,  waits  for  permission  to  sound  the  ad- 
vance. The  notes  ring  out  with  startling  distinctness 
on  the  frosty  air,  and  the  call  is  not  ended  before  the 
brave  fellows  who  have  for  hours  lain  on  the  frozen 
ground  spring  to  their  feet,  and  without  a  word  rush 
down  the  slope  over  the  few  yards  that  measure  the 
meadow's  width  into  the  creek  and  over  the  startled 
pickets  lining  the  farther  bank.  The  line  is  a  deployed 
one,  but  with  closed  intervals,  and  the  rush  of  that  fif- 
teen hundred  men  has  been  made  with  so  much  im- 
petuosity that  it  has  been  irresistible.  Scarce  a  shot 
has  been  fired,  and  it  seems  certain  that  the  allotted 
task  of  these  brave  fellows  will  succeed,  when  from  the 
woods  in  rear  rushes  a  mounted  aide,  swinging  his  hat, 
and  calling,  "  Come  back !  Come  back !"  The  retreat 
is  sounded,  and  that  seems  to  call  the  startled  enemy  to 
his  senses,  and  he  begins  to  send  destruction  into  the 
gallant  ranks  now  retiring.  I  have  never  seen  a  com- 
mand to  attack  obeyed  more  instantly  nor  an  advance 
made  with  more  impetuosity  and  evident  determination 
to  win. 

I  am  a  Western  man  by  birth,  and  can  say  this  much 
for  those  sons  of  New  England  without  fear  of  the 
charge  of  egotism.  Events  might  cause  the  shipwreck 
of  many  a  fair  scheme  of  skilful  general,  defeat  might 
come  in  place  of  victory,  but  fidelity  to  duty,  courage 
in  the  hour  of  battle,  and  patience  and  hopefulness  ever 
characterized  the  mass  of  our  soldiers. 

Why  had  the  well-arranged  plans  miscarried  ?  Why 
had  Warren  not  attacked  ?    Many  reasons  have  since  the 


330         GLIMPSES  OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

event  been  given.  What  I  heard  that  day  was  that  Lee, 
evidently  confident  of  the  strength  of  his  left  and  centre, 
during  the  night  reinforced  his  right ;  and  whereas  it 
had  before  rested  "  in  air,"  he  prolonged  and  refused  it, 
at  the  same  time  covering  his  new  position  with  breast- 
works and  abatis.  We  all  know  how  accomplished  in 
that  sort  of  defensive  work  the  men  on  both  sides  after- 
wards became,  and  how  strong  they  could  make  a  posi- 
tion when  the  material  and  the  time  were  at  their  com- 
mand. But  elaborate  field-works  were  a  new  thing  in 
those  days,  for,  if  my  memory  serves  me  right,  it  was 
not  until  the  following  year — 1864 — that  the  habit  of 
fortifying  every  position  and  even  every  line  of  battle 
came  into  general  use  on  both  sides.  A  few  rails  has- 
tily thrown  together,  or  a  shallow  trench,  to  give  part 
protection  to  the  body  and  to  outline  a  position,  was  all 
that  was  thought  necessary  for  the  infantry.  The  pick, 
the  shovel,  and  the  axe  did  not  really  come  into  general 
use  on  the  Union  side  until  it  was  forced  upon  us  by 
seeing  what  a  few  hours'  work  by  every  man  in  the 
enemy's  ranks  could  do  towards  converting  slight  natu- 
ral advantages  into  wellnigh  impregnable  positions. 
Those  who  fought  from  the  Kapidan  to  Petersburg 
know  how  the  Confederate  forces  always  covered  them- 
selves with  rough  but  massive  breastworks,  so  that  there 
was  no  more  fighting  in  the  open,  but  every  attack  was 
an  assault  with  the  odds  largely  against  the  assailant. 

When  Warren  approached  the  enemy's  right,  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  29th,  he  saw  a  strong  natural  position, 
well  prepared  for  defence,  but  a  reconnoissance  devel- 
oped the  fact  that  it  was  the  end  of  the  *'  Mine  Kun" 
works,  and  that  no  troops  lay  beyond  or  far  to  the  rear. 


ADDRESS  BY  LIEUT.- COL.  EDWIN  C.  MASON.      33 1 

To  demonstrate  strongly  to  the  front,  and  at  the  same 
time  with  another  force  take  the  position  in  reverse 
without  so  extending  our  line  of  battle  as  to  invite  a 
counter-attack,  with  the  possible  separation  of  Warren 
from  the  troops  on  his  right,  seemed  practicable. 

With  three  hours  more  of  daylight  on  the  29th,  and 
the  reinforcements  he  afterwards  received  at  his  com- 
mand, his  plan  would  have  won  success ;  but  the  dawn- 
ing light  of  Monday  morning  showed  an  entirely  differ- 
ent condition  of  affairs.  Where  the  night  before  had 
been  wooded  slopes  and  long  reaches  of  country,  with- 
out a  sign  of  life,  were  now  seen  lines  of  breastworks, 
rifle-pits,  and  other  defences,  including  the  never-absent 
abatis  or  "  slashing,"  as  we  generally  called  the  entan- 
glement of  fallen  trees  and  bushes.  Lunettes  here 
and  there  broke  the  line  of  intrenchments ;  in  one 
fourteen  pieces  could  be  counted,  and  every  salient 
showed  its  section  of  artillery. 

General  Walker,  in  his  recent  history  of  the  Second 
Corps,  gives  an  instance  of  how  the  men  felt  as  they 
looked  in  the  dim  morning  light  at  the  changes  wrought 
during  the  long  winter  night.  General  Alexander 
Hays  says,  "  While  on  the  picket-line  reconnoitring, 
my  uniform  concealed  by  a  soldier's  overcoat,  I  asked 
an  old  veteran  of  the  noble  First  Minnesota,  on  picket, 
what  he  thought  of  the  prospect.  Not  recognizing  me 
as  an  officer  he  expressed  himself  very  freely,  declaring 
it  "a  d — d  sight  worse  than  Fredericksburg,"  and 
adding,  "I  am  going  as  far  as  I  can  travel,  but  we 
can't  get  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  way  up  that 
hill." 

How  far  to  the  right  and  rear  Lee  had  carried  these 


332         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

works  Warren  could  not  tell;  but  certainly  beyond 
where  it  would  be  safe  to  extend  his  lines  without  en- 
dangering our  centre.  I  know  that  Warren  had  set 
his  heart  on  this  attack,  and  it  was  a  bitter  disappoint- 
ment to  him  to  find  in  the  morning  the  prospect  of 
success  so  doubtful  that  he  must  make  up  his  mind  to 
sacrifice  himself  or  his  men.  He  magnanimously  chose 
the  former,  and  General  Meade  could  not  but  approve 
when  later  in  the  day  he  rode  along  the  lines. 

If  a  change  afterwards  came  over  General  Warren 
so  great  as  to  lead  to  his  suspension  from  command  for 
seeming  dilatoriness,  certainly  at  the  time  I  speak  of 
his  instincts  were  to  fight  whenever  opportunity  served. 

Before  noon  I  was  informed  the  question  was  to  con- 
tinue the  campaign  by  moving  to  the  left  far  enough  to 
force  Lee  from  his  works,  or  to  return  to  the  north 
bank  of  the  Rapidan.  There  is  little  doubt  that  had 
General  Meade  been  at  liberty  to  change  his  base  from 
the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad  to  Fredericks- 
burg he  would  have  done  so,  and  continued  the  cam- 
paign by  moving  around  the  enemy's  right ;  but  the 
leading-strings  which  were  ever  around  our  commanders 
in  the  field,  until  Grant  shook  them  off,  were  pulled  by 
the  bureau  ofiicers  in  Washington,  and  he  was  left  no 
option  but  to  return. 

All  day  we  lay  in  position.  It  was  about  eight  p.m. 
when  the  orders  to  march  came  and  the  army  began  to 
retire.  The  general  impression  was  that  a  movement 
on  Fredericksburg  was  contemplated.  The  disap- 
pointment throughout  the  army  was  profound  when 
the  Rapidan  was  again  crossed  and  the  evening  of 
Wednesday,  the  2d  of  December,  found  us  once  more 


ADDRESS  BY  LIEUT.-COL.  EDWIN  C.  MASON.      333 

in  our  camps  of  the  week  before.  So  ended  the  "  Mine 
Kun"  campaign ;  a  movement,  as  I  have  said  before, 
well  conceived  and  deserving  of  success. 

In  a  campaign,  when  it  was  vital  that  there  should 
be  promptness  and  celerity  of  movement,  and  the  most 
careful  prevision  in  matters  of  detail,  it  is  inconceivable 
how  the  delay  in  the  Third  Corps  in  moving  (from 
sunrise  to  eleven  o'clock  a.m.)  and  the  failure  to  know 
the  length  of  bridge  required  to  span  the  Rapidan  could 
have  occurred.  These  two  things  lost  General  Meade 
about  sixteen  hours.  The  head  of  the  Sixth  Corps 
halted  in  the  midst  of  the  camps  of  the  Third  Corps 
soon  after  sunrise  on  the  26th  of  November.  Accord- 
ing to  the  order  of  march  the  Third  was  to  precede  the 
Sixth,  and  should  have  been  far  on  its  road  before  the 
time  noted ;  but  no  preparations  to  march  were  visible 
when  we  halted,  and  it  was  not  until  eleven  o'clock — an 
hour  later  than  the  time  fixed  for  the  crossing  of  the 
river — that  our  impatient  men,  who  had  been  standing 
for  hours  wearily  in  the  mud,  were  able  to  move  on. 
General  French  afterwards  claimed  that  he  had  not 
received  the  previous  night  the  marching  orders  issued 
to  the  other  corps. 

A  second  delay  was  occasioned  by  the  failure  to  pro- 
vide a  sufficient  bridge-train  for  the  several  crossings. 
The  pontoon-bridge  over  which  we  finally  crossed  the 
Rapidan  was  patched  out  with  an  improvised  structure 
of  logs  and  trestles  which  it  took  time  to  make.  The 
river  was  crossed  after  midnight.  .  This  should  have 
been  accomplished  between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock  of  the 
day  before. 

The  third  misfortune  was  the  mishap  that  befell  Gen- 


334         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

eral  French  in  taking  the  wrong  road  and  coming  into 
collision  with  part  of  Ewell's  corps,  and  thus  precipi- 
tating an  engagement  that  delayed  our  march  and  gave 
the  enemy  the  precious  time  he  so  urgently  needed  to 
concentrate  his  forces.  The  campaign  as  originally 
planned  was  doomed  from  that  hour.  The  subsequent 
operations  were  but  an  attempt  to  win  success  in 
another  direction  in  spite  of  adverse  circumstances. 

I  have  hastily  and  imperfectly  sketched  an  episode 
in  the  history  of  that  army  whose  province  it  was  for 
four  years  to  confront  the  ablest  leader  and  choicest 
troops  the  Confederate  government  could  put  into  the 
field.  In  a  war  of  less  magnitude  the  campaign  would 
have  occupied  in  history  no  inconspicuous  page;  but  it 
now  serves  at  best  but  as  a  text  for  the  military  critic. 

With  the  suppression  of  the  Rebellion  the  grand 
army  of  volunteers  ceased  to  exist,  and  the  men  who 
had  filled  its  ranks  or  connnanded  its  subdivisions  re- 
turned to  enjoy  in  their  homes  the  honors  they  had  won 
in  the  field;  but  the  organization  of  this  and  kindred 
orders  and  associations  proves  that  the  soldiers  of  the 
republic  have  not  lost  interest  in  the  operations  in  which 
they  took  part,  and  in  the  discussion  of  the  questions 
they  naturally  give  rise  to.  The  game  of  war  is,  after 
all,  largely  one  of  chance.  The  infirmities  and  passions 
of  men ;  the  mental,  moral,  and  physical  peculiarities  of 
those  intrusted  with  power  and  responsibilities;  the  play 
of  the  elements ;  the  skill  or  enterprise,  or  both  com- 
bined, of  the  foe ;  all  these  and  many  other  things  that 
mis:ht  be  mentioned,  must  be  taken  into  account  in  esti- 
mating  the  probabilities  of  failure  or  success.  The  re- 
view of  a  campaign  or  series  of  operations  is  therefore 


ADDRESS  BY  LIEUT.- COL.  EDWIN  C.  MASON.      335 

interesting  to  military  men  chiefly  as  showing  how  the 
known  chances  of  a  faihire  or  disarrangement  of  his 
plans  have  been  provided  for  by  the  general  and  his 
subordinates,  and  it  becomes  valuable  to  us  as  we  note 
the  points  on  which  success  or  failure  hinge.  I  say 
valuable,  for  there  is  no  certainty  that  at  least  the 
younger  members  of  our  order  may  not  be  called  upon 
again  to  buckle  on  the  harness. 

It  is  true  we  are  not  a  warlike  people, — that  is,  a 
nation  bent  on  conquest  or  the  pursuit  of  military  glory, 
— but  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  the  heights  of  Queens- 
town,  the  plains  of  Chippewa  and  Niagara,  Lundy's 
Lane  and  Fort  Erie,  Tippecanoe  and  Okee-clio-bu,  and 
twoscore  more  of  bloody  engagements  in  the  gloomy 
forests  and  cypress  swamps  of  Florida,  Palo  Alta,  Resaca 
de  la  Palma,  Monterey,  Buena  Vista,  Contreras,  Cheru- 
busco,  Chapultepec,  Molino  del  Rey,  the  City  of  Mexico, 
a  hundred  fields  from  Bull  Run  to  Appomattox,  cam- 
paigns, scouts,  skirmishes,  and  other  engagements  with- 
out number,  in  all  that  vast  region  stretching  from  the 
slopes  of  the  Alleghanies  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and 
ranging  in  point  of  time  from  the  beginning  of  the  cen- 
tury to  the  death  of  the  gallant  Crawford  on  Mexican 
soil  a  few  months  ago,  and  the  more  recent  capture  of 
Geronimo,  all  prove  that  the  American  citizen  will  fight 
when  duty  or  patriotism  calls. 

Gentlemen,  our  order  will  not  fulfil  its  highest  mis- 
sion unless,  above  the  preservation  and  transmission  to 
our  children  of  the  memories  of  the  dnys  when  loyalty 
and  treason  fought  for  the  mastery,  we  inculcate  the 
principle  that  the  man  who  serves  under  the  American 
flag  should  be  the  epitome  of  all  those  qualities  the 


336         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

common  verdict  of  mankind  ascribes  to  the  ideal  soldier: 
courage  to  do  liis  duty,  not  only  when  his  acts  will 
receive  popular  applause,  but  under  those  more  trying 
circumstances  when  he  may  be  called  upon  to  aid  the 
magistrate  in  maintaining  the  good  order  of  society ; 
fidelity  that  stands  to  duty,  even  to  the  death  ;  and 
honor,  bringing  in  her  train  truth  and  virtue;  the 
honor  that  can  stand  the  light  of  noonday  without 
showing  a  stain  to  tarnish  its  brightness.  In  such  men 
as  Sedgwick,  Hancock,  McPherson,  the  peerless  Logan, 
and  scores  of  others  held  in  grateful  remembrance  by 
our  people,  these  principles  ran  together  like  warp  and 
woof,  weaving  in  each  the  web  of  a  noble  life. 


THE  SURRENDER  OF  THE  THIRD  REGIMENT 

MINNESOTA  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.* 
BY  BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL  C.  C.  ANDEEWS, 

BREVET    MAJOR-GENERAL    U.  S.    VOLUNTEERS. 


The  several  papers  which  it  has  been  my  fortune  to 
hear  read  before  this  society  have  not  only  been  un- 
commonly graphic  and  interesting,  but  they  have  delin- 
eated scenes  in  great  campaigns.  In  contrast  with  them 
it  is  with  real  diffidence  that  I  now  ask  attention  to  the 
story  of  a  single  regiment,  the  Tliird  Minnesota.  What 
Sfives  general  interest  to  this  reo'iment  is  the  influence 
which  its  unfortunate  surrender  had  in  an  important 
chapter  of  the  war,  the  failure  of  General  Buell  to  make 
the  campaign  into  East  Tennessee. 

Like  all  of  our  Minnesota  regiments,  the  Third  was 
recruited  from  all  portions  of  the  State.    I  was  residing 

*  Among  the  Companions  present  at  the  reading  of  this  paper 
were  General  and  ex-Governor  H.  H.  Sibley ;  General  and  ex- 
Governor  W.  E.  Marshall,  formerly  colonel  of  Seventh  Minne- 
sota; General  and  ex-Governor  L.  F.  Hubbard,  formerly  colonel 
Fifth  Minnesota;  Chief-.Justice  James  Gilfillan,  foi-merly  colonel 
Eleventh  Minnesota ;  General  J.  B.  Sanborn,  formerly  colonel 
Fourth  Minnesota;  Colonel  H.  Mattson,  Third  Minnesota;  Gen- 
eral J.  T.  Averill,  formerly  colonel  Sixth  Minnesota;  General 
J.  H.  Baker,  formex'ly  colonel  Tenth  Minnesota ;  Eev.  Dr.  E.  D. 
Neill,  ex-chaplain  First  Minnesota,  etc.,  etc. 

22  337 


338         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

before  the  war  at  St.  Cloud,  in  a  then  sparsely-settled 
region,  and  the  recruiting  for  the  little  nucleus  of  my 
company  involved  travel  by  carriage  over  territory 
about  a  hundred  miles  in  extent.  In  the  early  autumn 
of  1861,  generally  accompanied  by  some  one,  I  can- 
vassed for  recruits  a  good  part  of  the  upper  country, 
and  especially  Sauk  Valley,  a  lovely  region  of  undu- 
lating prairie,  wood,  and  stream,  forming  a  natural  park 
sixty  miles  in  length.  I  went  as  fiir  northwest  as  the 
shores  of  Lake  Osakis.  At  that  time  tlie  earlier  frost 
had  thrown  a  scarlet  tinge  over  the  thickets  of  maple 
and  poplar,  and  on  the  scattered  farms  the  threshing- 
machine  and  autumn  plough  were  already  in  motion. 

Among  each  nationality  of  the  settlers  we  found  a 
few  young  men  who  were  eager  to  go  to  the  war,  but  it 
was  often  too  great  a  pang  for  their  parents  to  give 
their  consent.  I  distinctly  recall  instances  wliere  after 
a  full  talk  and  consideration  of  the  matter  a  husband 
agreed  to  enlist ;  but  the  wife,  on  hearing  the  decision, 
burst  into  tears,  and  seemed  unable  to  consent  to  spare 
him.  In  every  such  case,  of  course,  the  man  was 
promptly  released  from  his  promise.  I  remember  two 
such  cases  wliere  husbands  subsequently  went  in  other 
regiments  and  returned  after  the  war  safely  to  their 
families.  If  one  had  dreamed  that  in  course  of  a  year 
that  peaceful  frontier  would  have  been  swept  by  Indian 
war,  our  success  in  recruiting  would  probably  have  been 
much  less  than  it  was. 

Although  without  military  experience  before  the  war, 
I  had,  however,  some  years  previously,  as  a  civilian, 
spent  six  months  at  a  large  military  post,  where  by 
frequently  seeing  drills  and  occasionally  an  inspection 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL    C.  C.  ANDREWS.         339 

in  each  arm  of  the  regular  army  service  I  acquired 
some  idea  of  military  discipline.  Also,  after  inscribing 
my  name  as  a  volunteer  under  the  first  call  for  troops, 
I  spent  a  week  at  Fort  Ripley,  drilling  in  the  manual 
of  arms  and  observing  that  model  officer.  Captain 
Nelson  H.  Davis  (afterwards  inspector-general  United 
States  Army),  handle  his  infantry  company. 

The  thinness  of  our  population  and  distance  from 
Fort  Snelling  caused  my  company  to  be  the  last  but 
one  organized.  The  men  with  me  came  from  St.  Cloud 
to  St.  Paul  by  stage ;  we  lodged  at  the  old  Winslow 
House  near  Seven  Corners,  and  the  next  day  went  to 
Fort  Snelling.  But  we  were  not  enough  for  a  company 
organization.  The  first  night  at  Fort  Snelling  I  retired 
feeling  about  the  bluest  I  ever  did  in  my  life,  for  I  was 
contemplating  what  sort  of  an  enlisted  man  I  would 
make.  I  knew  I  was  going  to  the  war  even  if  I  had  to 
serve  through  it  as  an  enlisted  man.  The  next  day  the 
skies  brightened.  Our  men  of  the  upper  country  united 
with  about  an  equal  number  from  the  Minnesota  Valley, 
with  Mr.  J.  H.  Swan,  and  Company  I  was  formed, 
the  writer  being  elected  captain.  We  were  sworn  into 
the  service  October  11,  but  it  was  not  till  about  the  1st 
of  November  that  the  company  was  filled. 

On  a  bright  Indian-summer  day,  November,  1861, 
the  Third  Hegiment,  eight  hundred  or  more  strong, 
embarked  at  Fort  Snelling  for  the  South.  What  greet- 
ings and  benedictions  from  the  awakened  people  saluted 
it  on  its  progress  to  Louisville !  What  a  bountiful 
repast  the  Wisconsin  ladies  spread  before  us  at  Portage ! 
What  throngs  of  old  and  young  gathered  around  us  at 
La  Fayette,  Indiana !     I  will    not   say  that   patriotic 


340         GLIMPSES   OF  TEE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

emotion  took  away  our  appetites,  but  it  stirred  our  feel- 
ings on  reaching  the  soil  of  Kentucky  to  be  treated  as 
the  regiment  was  to  a  bountiful  collation  served  in 
person  by  some  of  Louisville's  sturdy  Unionists  and 
most  prominent  citizens.  Nor  was  it  a  compliment  paid 
only  to  the  Third  Minnesota.  All  volunteers  as  they 
arrived  were  treated  in  the  same  hospitable  manner. 
It  was  just  there  that  Prentiss,  the  Demosthenes  of  the 
Union  cause  in  the  Southwest,  had  thundered  against 
secession. 

What  was  the  training  of  the  Third  Regiment  up  to 
the  hour  of  Murfreesboro'  ?  Assigned  to  the  brigade 
of  Genera]  Mitchell,  the  regiment,  under  the  command 
of  Lieutenant-Colonel  B.  F.  Smith,  remained  a  short 
time  in  camp  a  few  miles  out  from  Louisville,  where  it 
procured  teams  and  Belgian  muskets,  also  exercised  in 
battalion  drill ;  then  marched  to  Shepherdsville,  Ken- 
tucky, and  entered  upon  the  duty  of  guarding  an  ex- 
tensive stretch  of  the  Louisville  and  Nashville  Railroad, 
beinof  brigaded  with  the  Thirteenth  and  Fifteenth 
Kentucky  and  Ninth  Michigan  Regiments  as  the  Six- 
teenth Brigade  of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio.  At  this 
time  General  Buell  had  just  relieved  General  Sherman 
of  the  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Ohio,  head- 
quarters at  Louisville.  General  George  H.  Thomas 
with  a  small  force  was  at  Peach  Orchard,  Lincoln 
County,  eighty  miles  southeast  of  Shepherdsville ; 
while  the  principal  Union  force  was  on  Nolin  Creek 
(near  Abraham  Lincoln's  native  spot) ,  sixty  miles  south 
of  Shepherdsville,  under  General  McCook.  In  his  front 
at  Bowling  Green  was  General  Albert  Sidney  Johns- 
ton with  nineteen  thousand  Confederates.     The  Con- 


ADBEESS  BY  GENERAL    C.  C.  ANDliEWS.         34I 

federates  also  held  Columbus,  Kentucky.  The  armies 
in  the  field  on  both  sides  were  constantly  being  rein- 
forced, and  a  battle  seemed  impending. 

At  Shepherdsville  our  Colonel  Henry  C.  Lester,  who 
had  been  a  captain  in  the  First  Minnesota,  an-ived 
from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  took  command  of 
the  regiment.  He  proved  to  be  an  intelligent,  modest, 
and  hospitable  gentleman.  He  at  once  started  an  even- 
in"-  school  of  tactics  and  the  manual  of  arms  for  the 
commissioned  officers,  and  organized  that  instruction 
and  drill  which,  rigidly  adhered  to  for  many  months, 
gradually  brought  the  regiment  to  an  unusually  high 
degree  of  discipline  and  efficiency.  This,  with  his  uni- 
formly just  and  dignified  conduct,  won  for  him  the 
admiration  of  officers  and  enlisted  men  alike,  so  that 
probably  the  very  misfortune  of  the  13th  of  July  fol- 
lowing was  partly  owing  to  such  an  extreme  confidence 
of  some  of  the  company  commanders  in  him  as  to  de- 
prive them  of  independent  judgment  in  that  crisis. 
Headquarters  were  shortly  moved  to  Belmont,  a  de- 
serted iron-producing  village,  whose  abundant  buildings 
afforded  ample  shelter.  It  was  a  hilly,  brush-wooded, 
and  lean  region ;  but  it  had  this  charm  :  it  afforded 
enough  level  ground  for  knaj^sack  battalion  drill.  Four 
companies  were  detached  a  week  at  a  time  guarding 
railroad  bridges  at  Elizabeth  town,  Colesburg,  Lebanon 
Junction,  and  Shepherdsville.  There  were  thus  always 
six  companies  at  the  main  camp  being  habitually  exer- 
cised two  hours  every  afternoon  in  battalion  drill. 
Each  company  likewise,  wherever  stationed,  spent  two 
hours  every  forenoon  in  squad  and  company  drill.  In 
very  wet  weather  the  manual  of  arms  and  marking 


342         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

time  were  practised  under  cover.  One  of  the  first 
things  the  colonel  did  at  Belmont  was  to  establish  a 
bakery,  by  which  the  regiment  was  supplied  with  ex- 
cellent bread.  The  bugle  band  which  he  organized, 
and  compared  with  which  the  ordinary  brass  band  is 
but  parlor  music,  was  a  novel  and  attractive  feature. 
Company  commanders  will  remember  that  at  Belmont 
they,  every  morning  immediately  after  roll-call  at  day- 
light, were  required  to  report,  in  person,  the  result  at 
headquarters,  which  was  frequently  done  to  a  recum- 
bent adjutant. 

Who  can  forget  the  luxurious  pies  that  were  brought 
into  camp  and  sold  by  poor  country  people  !  I  think, 
however,  those  of  us  have  the  pleasantest  recollection 
of  the  pies  who  enjoyed  them  solely  by  the  exquisite 
sense  of  sight.  At  the  different  outposts  we  had  a 
variety  of  experiences.  The  stream,  often  swollen  and 
rapid,  which  flows  through  Shepherds ville  is  the  original 
Salt  River.  A  tremendous  jam  of  logs  had  formed  in 
that  river  so  as  to  endanger  a  railroad  bridge,  and  as 
our  men  were  ever  ready  for  any  sort  of  work  to  ad- 
vance the  cause,  a  company  with  its  officers  after  vol- 
untarily toiling  a  whole  day  succeeded  in  removing  the 
jam.  I  state  as  a  fact  that  the  work  was  wholly  to  save 
the  bridge,  and  not  at  all  to  improve  the  navigation  of 
Salt  River ! 

Once  as  I  was  about  to  make  a  trip  to  Louisville  I 
was  authorized  by  the  colonel  to  call  at  the  headquarters 
of  the  commanding  general  to  see  if  better  muskets 
could  be  obtained.  I  was  kindly  received  by  General 
Buell  at  his  rooms  in  the  Gait  House,  where,  though  it 
was  evening,  he  was  at  work  in  his  shirt-sleeves.     He 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL    C.  C.  ANDREWS.         343 

was  a  large  and  fine-looking  man,  in  the  prime  of  life, 
and  his  simplicity  and  evident  ability  filled  my  idea  of 
a  great  general.  He  asked  a  number  of  questions  about 
the  Third  Kegiment,  the  answers  to  which  appeared  to 
gratify  him.  A  few  days  afterwards  the  regiment  re- 
ceived a  supply  of  rifle-muskets  that  were  satisfactory. 

Even  before  quitting  Belmont  the  Third  Regiment 
could  well  have  been  taken  for  a  regular  army  regiment 
for  the  precision  of  its  movements,  general  appearance, 
and  adherence  to  the  regulations.  Even  the  leather 
neck-stock  was  not  disdained,  though  finally  it  had  a  pe- 
culiar tendency  for  getting  lost.  The  plates  on  the  belts 
and  equipments,  the  bugles  and  eagles  on  the  hats,  also 
the  shoulder-scales,  were  as  bright  as  gold.  An  enlisted 
man  of  the  Third  in  full  uniform,  and  especially  with 
his  shoulder-scales,  was  more  striking  than  a  commis- 
sioned officer,  and  was  sometimes  taken  by  the  citizens 
for  an  officer  of  very  high  rank.  It  was  partly  the 
effect  of  those  gleaming  shoulder-scales  upon  the  plain 
people,  I  suppose,  that  caused  our  men  to  be  so  fre- 
quently invited  out  to  tea.  At  the  colonel's  request  all 
the  men  at  their  own  expense  provided  themselves  with 
white  cotton  gloves  to  wear  on  parade,  on  guard  duty, 
and  at  inspections.  Here  and  there  would  be  a  few  so 
averse  to  everything  like  style  that  they  were  slow  to 
adopt  the  jDractice,  and  to  see  just  these  very  men,  after 
some  weeks,  washing  their  gloves,  suggested  that  willing 
spirit  which  is  the  source  of  good  discipline. 

The  flank  operations  of  the  Union  forces  up  the 
Tennessee  and  Cumberland  Kivers,  crowned  with  the 
victory  of  Fort  Donelson,  caused  the  retreat  of  the  Con- 
federate armies  from  Kentucky  and  even  to  the  south- 


344         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

ern  borders  of  Tennessee.  The  general  forward  move- 
ments consequent  took  our  regiment  to  Nashville,  where, 
March  24,  1862,  it  went  into  camp  on  the  Ewing  place, 
two  miles  out  of  the  city,  near  the  Murfreesboro'  pike. 
It  performed  guard  duty  in  the  city  and  watched  the 
railroad  bridge  at  Mill  Creek.  It  made  a  very  good 
impression  at  Nashville,  was  visited  and  reviewed  at  its 
camp  by  Andrew  Johnson,  then  military  Governor  of 
Tennessee,  and  by  him  addressed  in  an  elaborate  oration 
on  the  great  theme  of  the  Union.  At  his  invitation  the 
regiment  visited  Nasliville,  was  there  welcomed  by  him 
as  governor,  and  conducted  by  him  in  person  around 
the  spacious  marble-paved  veranda  of  Tennessee's  beau- 
tiful Cai^itol. 

April  27,  twenty  days  after  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  and 
the  same  day  our  armies  under  Halleck  began  a  cautious 
movement  against  Beauregard's  lines  at  Corinth,  we 
marched  for  Murfreesboro',  a  town  in  the  heart  of  Ten- 
nessee, whence  radiate  eleven  highways,  some  of  which 
were  good  macadamized  pikes.  It  was  a  place  requiring 
much  picket  duty.  There  were  frequent  rumors  of  ex- 
pected attacks.  Sometimes  one  company,  sometimes  two 
companies,  would  be  posted  out  on  a  road  all  night  as 
the  picket  reserve.  One  night  when  the  whole  regiment 
in  perfect  silence  took  position  out  on  one  of  the  roads, 
an  attack  was  regarded  as  certain.  We  had  a  good 
position  and  some  field  guns,  and  thought,  as  we  waited 
there  in  the  darkness,  we  had  a  sure  thing  on  the  enemy, 
but  he  did  not  come.  It  was  at  Murfreesboro'  that  we 
drilled  in  street  firing.  With  Kentucky  regiments,  we 
also  practised  brigade  drill  in  a  field  where  Jefferson 
Davis  afterwards  reviewed  a  Confederate  army.      In 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL   C.  C.  ANDREWS.  345 

May  we  were  a  short  time  at  Columbia,  Tennessee,  in 
the  centre  of  a  garden  region.  In  June  w^e  marched 
with  the  column  under  General  Dumont  over  the  Cum- 
berland Mouutains  to  Pikeville,  making  the  first  part  of 
the  march  from  Murfreesboro'  to  McMinnville,  forty 
miles,  in  excessive  heat  and  dust  in  twenty-four  hours. 
Soon  after  its  return  to  Murfreesboro'  the  Third  Regi- 
ment went  into  camp  on  the  Stone  River  upwards  of  a 
mile  from  town. 

The  government  deemed  it  of  very  great  importance 
to  redeem  East  Tennessee,  and  after  our  forces  gained 
possession  of  Corinth,  the  last  of  May,  General  Buell, 
who  had  gained  brilliant  laurels  at  Shiloh,  was  selected 
to  conduct  an  army  to  Chattanooga.  He  acted  under 
instructions  from  General  Halleck,  who  was  at  Corinth 
till  July  16.  General  Buell  was  also  at  Corinth  till 
June  11,  but  towards  the  last  of  that  month  fixed  his 
headquarters  at  Huntsville,  in  Northern  Alabama,  on 
the  railroad  from  Memphis  to  Chattanooga.  He  con- 
tinued busy  preparing  for  his  campaign.  It  took  sixty 
wag(3ns  for  oue  day's  supply  of  provisions  and  forage 
for  his  army  of  ninety  thousand,  of  whom  sixty-seven 
thousand,  though  not  in  one  body,  were  present  for 
duty.  It  was  of  vital  importance  that  he  should  have 
the  Nashville  and  Chattanooga  Railroad  {via  Murfrees- 
boro' and  Stevenson)  in  operation,  but  in  addition  to  that 
he  undertook  the  repair  of  the  railroad  I'unning  from 
Memphis  to  Chattanooga.  He  was  told  by  Halleck, 
July  10,  that  the  President  was  not  satisfied  Avith  his 
progress  and  that  he  ought  to  move  more  rapidly.  He 
replied  that  his  arrangements  were  being  pushed  as 
rapidly  as  possible;  that  the  reports  of  General  Mitchell, 


346         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

who  had  charge  of  some  of  the  railroad  repairs,  had  led 
him  to  expect  that  the  Chattanooga  road  would  be  com- 
pleted by  the  1st  of  July  ;  that  he  had  doubled  the  force 
on  it,  and  it  could  not  be  finished  before  July  14.     By 
July  12,  however,  preparations  were  so  advanced  that 
he  appears  to  have  been  on  the  eve  of  moving.    On  that 
date  Wood's  division  was  ordered  to  march  the  follow- 
ing day  to  Stevenson ;  the  quartermaster  and  commis- 
sary at  Nashville  were  ordered  to  send  through  supplies 
to  Stevenson  the  following  day.    But,  alas !  though  now 
apparently  on  the  eve  of  moving,  his  campaign  never 
was  accomplished.     The  Confederates  knew  his  plans. 
They  had  possession  of  East  Tennessee,  but  their  force 
at  Chattanooga  was  inferior  to  his,  and  as  Bragg's  rein- 
forcements could  not  begin  to  arrive  there  for  two  weeks, 
or  before  July  27,  they  sent  Morgan  into  Kentucky  and 
Forrest  against  Murfreesboro'  to  cut  Buell's  lines  of  com- 
munication and  delay  his  movement.    The  Confederate 
General  E.  Kirby  Smith,  writing  near  Knoxville,  July 
14,  says,  "Colonel  Forrest,  with  three  regiments,  was 
sent  into  Middle  Tennessee  to  delay  Buell's  movement 
till  Bragg's  columns  make  their  appearance."     Unhap- 
pily, Buell's  army  was  so  held  in  check  by  this  and 
succeeding  raids  (for  Forrest,  encouraged  by  his  capture 
of  Murfreesboro',  made  another  raid  a  week  afterwards, 
destroying  three  bridges   nine    miles   from  Nashville) 
that  the  Confederates  not  only  gained  all  the  time  they 
wanted  to  throw  reinforcements  into  Chattanooga,  but 
actually  to  take  the  offensive  and  strike  out  boldly  for 
Louisville.     Then  began  that  race  towards  the  Ohio  of 
the  armies  under  Buell  and  Bragg,  culminating,  Octo- 
ber 9,  in  the  battle  of  Perryville. 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL   C.  C.  ANDREWS.  347 

Turning  now  to  the  attack  of  July  13  on  our  forces 
at  Murfreesboro'  and  the  part  which  the  Third  Minne- 
sota phiyed  in  that  affair,  it  is  to  be  noticed  tliat  the 
regiment  at  that  time  formed  a  part  of  the  Twenty-third 
Brigade,  commanded  by  Colonel  W.  W.  Duffield,  of 
the  Ninth  Michigan,  and  which  was  under  orders  to 
march  to  McMinnville  about  July  18.  The  other  regi- 
ments of  the  brigade  were  the  Ninth  Michigan  and  the 
Eighth  and  Twenty-third  Kentucky,  the  two  last  being 
respectively  at  Wartrace  and  Pulaski.  For  two  months 
Colonel  Duffield  had  been  absent  on  leave,  during  which 
time  Colonel  Lester  had  been  in  command  of  the  bri- 
gade and  other  forces  at  Murfreesboro',  leaving  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Griggs  in  command  of  the  Third.  But 
a  day  or  two  before  the  loth  Duffield  had  returned  and 
resumed  the  brigade  command,  and  Colonel  Lester  had 
resumed  command  of  the  Third  Begiment.  Likewise 
General  T.  T.  Crittenden,  of  Indiana,  who  had  been 
promoted  for  gallantry  at  Shiloh,  had  arrived  at  Mur- 
freesboro' July  11,  and  taken  command  of  the  post  July 
12.  The  force  of  enlisted  men  fit  for  duty  at  Murfrees- 
boro' was  fully  oije  thousand.  Forrest  reported  that 
the  whole  number  of  enlisted  men  captured,  taken  to 
McMinnville  and  paroled,  was  between  eleven  and 
twelve  hundred.  Our  forces,  however,  were  separated. 
There  were  five  companies,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
strong,  of  the  Ninth  Michigan,  in  camp  three-fourths 
of  a  mile  east  of  the  town  on  the  Liberty  turnpike  (an- 
other company  of  the  Ninth  Michigan,  forty-two  strong, 
occupied  the  court-house  as  provost  guard).  Near  the 
camp  of  the  Ninth  Michigan  were  eighty  men  of  the 
Seventh  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  under  Major  Seibert; 


348         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

also  eighty-one  men  of  the  Fourth  Kentucky  Cavalry, 
under  Captain  Chilson.  More  than  a  mile  distant,  on 
the  other  side  of  the  town,  on  undulating  rocky  and 
wooded  ground  near  Stone  Kiver,  were  nine  companies 
of  the  Third  Minnesota,  five  hundred  strong;  near 'it, 
also,  two  sections — four  guns — of  Hewitt's  Kentucky 
field  artillery,  with  sixty-four  men  for  duty.  Company 
"C,"  one  of  the  largest  companies  of  the  Third  Regi- 
ment, was  absent  some  distance  below  Murfreesboro'. 

Murfreesboro',  as  we  have  seen,  was  on  the  Nashville 
and  Chattanooga  Railroad.  Its  principal  business  build- 
ings were  in  a  large  square,  in  the  centre  of  which  was 
the  court-house.  We  had  at  Murfreesboro'  valuable 
military  stores,  and  it  is  somewhat  remarkable  that 
none  of  the  commanding  generals  had  directed  the 
construction  of  any  fortifications,  or  even  a  stockade, 
although  about  that  time  General  Buell  began  to  issue 
orders  for  building  stockades  at  railroad  bridges,  and 
after  he  had  regained  possession  of  Murfreesboro'  caused 
some  fortifications  to  be  built  there. 

July  12,  the  day  before  Forrest's  attack,  General 
Buell  from  Huntsville  telegraphed  Halleck :  "  Infor- 
mation from  various  quarters  leaves  but  little  room  to 
doubt  that  a  heavy  cavalry  force  is  being  thrown  across 
from  Chattanooga  to  operate  in  Middle  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky."  The  same  date  Captain  O.  D.  Greene, 
Buell's  adjutant  at  Nashville,  telegraphed  from  there 
to  General  Buell's  headquarters  at  Huntsville  as  fol- 
lows: "A  heavy  movement  is  taking  place  upon  Mur- 
freesboro' via  McMinnville  from  Chattanooga.  Over 
two  thousand  cavalry  under  General  Forrest  had  already 
crossed  the  river  at  Chattanooga  when  my  informant 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL   C.  C.  ANDREWS.  349 

left  to-day  week."  Why  was  tins  information  not  sent 
promptly  to  Murfreesboro'  ?  There  were  nimors  that 
some  such  information  was  sent  there  before  July  13. 
Anyhow,  we  all  got  notice  of  the  movement  at  daybreak 
Sunday  morning,  July  13.  Forrest  having  come  on  a 
forced  march  from  Woodbury,  captured  our  picket  guard 
without  resistance,  and  dashed  into  Murfreesboro'  that 
morning  with  a  mounted  force  of  about  fifteen  hundred 
men,  a  part  of  which  charged  first  upon  the  camp  of 
the  Seventh  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  then  re-formed  and 
charged  upon  the  Ninth  Michigan  Infantry,  which 
made  a  very  gallant  defence  in  line  of  battle,  and  re- 
pulsed repeated  charges.  Many  of  the  Ninth  Michi- 
gan fell  by  the  enemy's  first  charge,  and  its  loss  during 
the  day,  including  that  of  the  company  at  the  court- 
house, was  eleven  killed  and  eighty-nine  wounded. 
The  enemy  suffered  considerable  loss  in  that  part  of 
the  town,  including  a  colonel  killed,  up  to  about  noon, 
when  the  Ninth  Michigan  surrendered.  General  Crit- 
tenden was  captured  at  his  headquarters  at  a  house  in 
town  at  about  eight  o'clock.  Almost  simultaneous  with 
the  first  attack  a  part  of  Forrest's  force  moved  towards 
the  Third  Minnesota,  which,  however,  had  sprung  up 
at  the  first  sound  of  the  firing,  formed  into  line,  and 
with  two  guns  of  Hewitt's  battery  on  each  flank, 
marched  in  the  direction  of  Murfreesboro'  for  the  en- 
counter. It  had  gone  but  a  few  hundred  yards  when 
the  enemy  appeared  in  sight  in  front  of  our  left,  but 
fell  back  in  a  confused  mass  at  sight  of  the  Third's 
well-formed  and  advancing  line.  The  artillery  with  us 
then  opened  fire.  Our  comrades  of  Company  C,  dis- 
tant at  a  bridge,  related  that  they  were  thrilled  with 


350         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

joy  at  hearing  this  artillery,  for  they  then  knew  that 
the  enemy  was  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Third  Regiment, 
and  they  were  confident  of  his  thorough  defeat.  The 
Third  Kegiment,  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour,  ad- 
vanced about  six  hundred  yards  farther  over  the  open 
ground  in  front  of  Murfree's  house,  to  a  moderate  ridge 
at  the  edge  of  a  large  piece  of  brush  and  open  timber, 
our  right  resting  near  the  Nashville  pike.  A  Parrot 
gun  was  placed  so  as  to  have  complete  range  for  nearly 
a  mile  down  this  pike  towards  Murfreesboro'.  The 
other  guns  were  six-pounders,  and  continued  to  fire 
wherever  the  enemy  was  supposed  to  be.  During  the 
forenoon  the  four  guns  of  Hewitt's  battery  fired  about 
three  hundred  rounds,  the  greater  part  of  them  appear- 
ing to  be  at  random.  Some,  however,  did  good  execu- 
tion, killing  or  wounding  the  enemy  when  he  dared  to 
come  in  sight,  worrying  and  dispersing  him  when  he 
attempted  to  form  in  the  woods,  also  making  him  desist 
from  an  attempt  to  tear  up  the  railroad. 

While  we  were  there  in  line  of  battle,  impatiently 
waiting  for  the  enemy  to  approach,  or,  what  was  better, 
to  be  led  against  him,  he  was  assailing  a  distant  inferior 
force  of  our  comrades  and  wantonly  destroying  valuable 
United  States  commissary  and  quartermaster  stores,  in 
town,  which  we  all  were  bound  in  honor  to  protect. 
We  were  kept  standing  or  lying  motionless,  even  while 
plainly  seeing  the  smoke  rising  from  our  burning  depot 
of  supplies.  Being  on  friendly  terms  with  our  colonel, 
I,  though  a  junior  captain,  went  to  him  as  he  sat  upon 
his  horse  at  his  proper  post  in  rear  of  the  line,  and 
asked  him  in  tone  of  entreaty  if  we  were  not  going  down 
into  the  town.     He  replied,  "  We  will  see."     Having 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL   C.  C.  ANDREWS.         351 

drilled  my  company  a  great  deal  in  target  practice 
(though  probably  not  more  than  other  companies  had 
been  drilled),  and  having  great  confidence  in  it,  I  offered 
in  good  faith  to  take  it  alone  into  the  town.  I  am  satis- 
fied that  other  ofiicers  expressed  to  the  colonel  a  wish 
to  advance.  Only  once  did  the  enemy  venture  within 
musket  range  of  our  main  line.  About  eight  o'clock 
the  Georgia  regiment  formed  down  in  the  woods  to 
charge  us,  but  only  two  of  its  companies  persevered  in 
the  charge ;  and  they,  finding  they  could  not  move  a 
man  in  our  line,  galloped  off  as  rapidly  as  possible  to 
our  left,  suffering  some  loss.  The  effect  of  this  was  to 
greatly  increase  the  ardor  and  confidence  of  our  men. 
The  only  casualties  that  occurred  to  this  main  body  of 
the  regiment  were  in  having  three  men  wounded,  two 
in  Company  E  while  dei^loyed  as  skirmishers,  and  one 
in  Company  H  while  standing  in  line  of  battle.  About 
the  time  of  the  charge  just  mentioned  of  the  Georgia 
regiment  a  considerable  force,  which,  as  we  shall  see,  was 
under  Forresfs  immediate  coimnand,  7tiade  three  as- 
saults upon  our  camp,  now  out  of  sight  and  half  a  7m le 
distant,  and  which  was  defended  by  a  small  camp  guar'd, 
the  convalescents,  and  teamsters.  In  that  struggle,  the 
firing  in  which  the  regiment  plainly  heard,  several  fell 
on  both  sides.  The  camp  was  finally  taken,  the  ofiicers' 
tents  and  property  burned,  and  the  ground  hastily 
abandoned  by  the  enemy.  About  noon  the  Third 
Kegiment  and  Hewitt's  battery  deliberately  retired  a 
short  distance  to  the  enclosed  ground  at  and  in  front 
of  Murfree's  house.  Our  surgeons,  Butler  and  Wedge, 
had  previously  established  a  hospital-tent  at  a  quiet 
place  near  Stone  River,  and  there  treated  the  wounded 


352         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

on  both  sides.  Wliile  waiting  there  in  Murfree's  large 
shrubbery-skirted  front  yard  I  remember  that  Com- 
pany I  sent  and  got  from  its  kitchen-tent  a  large  supply 
of  blackberries,  which,  with  coffee  and  hard  bread, 
made  a  refreshing  lunch ;  and  I  think  that  up  to  this 
time  the  men  thought  they  had  not  been  having  much 
more  than  a  picnic. 

At  about  half-past  two  o'clock,  when  we  had  present 
in  the  Third  Regiment  some  five  hundred  effective  men, 
well  armed,  in  good  spirits,  and  eager  for  a  fight,  also 
with  us  four  pieces  of  field-artillery,  well  manned,  and 
with  a  fair  supply  of  ammunition,  a  wliite  flag  appeared 
over  the  brow  of  the  rising  ground  nearly  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  front  of  us,  which  proved  to  be  a  request  for  our 
colonel  to  go  into  Murfreesboro'  for  a  consultation  with 
Colonel  Duffield.    Forrest,  as  is  stated  in  his  carefully- 
prepared  and  published  memoirs  of  his  campaigns,  on 
that  occasion  "  ostentatiously  displayed  his  several  com- 
mands along  the  path  Colonel  Lester  was  led  in  going 
to  and  returning  from  the  interview  with  Duffield,  so 
as  to  make  an   appearance  of  greater  numbers  than 
were  really  present."    Forrest  at  the  time  was  generally 
credited  with  having  had  a  force  of  twenty-five  hun- 
dred.    But  a  force  of  even  two  thousand  mounted  men 
in  one  body  was  very  uncommon.     Nothing  is  easier 
than  to  overestimate  the  numbers  of  a  cavalry  column. 
After  deducting  Forrest's  loss  in  killed  and  wounded, 
and  the  different  detachments  he  had  sent  off  to  guard 
prisoners  and  transportation,  it  is  doubtful  if  he  had 
over  a  thousand  effective  men  with  whom  to  engage  us 
at  three  o'clock  that  afternoon.    His  failure  throughout 
the  day  to  make  a.ny  serious  attack  on  the  main  body 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL   C.  C.  ANDREWS.         353 

of  our  regiment  satisfied  the  most  of  us,  I  am  sure,  that 
we  had  no  cause  to  fear  him.  It  is  very  doubtful  if  he 
would  have  made  any  further  attack.  Indeed,  it  is 
stated  in  his  *'  Campaigns,"  just  referred  to,  that  about 
noon,  and  previous  to  the  capture  of  the  Ninth  Michi- 
gan, "  among  many  of  his  officers  there  was  manifest  a 
perilous  want  of  confidence  in  the  ability  of  the  com- 
mand to  triumph.  So  far  did  this  spirit  reach  that 
some  of  the  officers  urged  Forrest  to  rest  content  with 
what  had  been  accomplished  and  quit  the  field  without 
further  and,  as  they  were  satisfied  fruitless,  yet  costly, 
efforts  to  carry  the  Federal  position." 

Unfortunately,  however,  the  result  of  Colonel  Les- 
ter's visit  was  that  he  became  strongly  inclined  to  sur- 
render the  regiment,  which  he  finally  did  between  three 
and  four  o'clock,  and  utterly  to  its  amazement,  indig- 
nation, and  grief  At  McMinnville  the  enlisted  men 
were  paroled  and  the  commissioned  officers  were  taken 
to  Madison,  Georgia,  and  there  held  in  a  Confederate 
prison  three  months. 

Colonel  Lester,  in  his  report  addressed  to  Lieuten- 
ant H.  M.  Duffield,  acting  assistant  adjutant-general 
Twenty-third  Brigade  (and  brother  of  Colonel  Duf- 
field, commander  of  the  brigade) ,  says,  "  While  taking 
^up  our  new  position  a  flag  of  truce  appeared,  borne  by 
yourself,  and  sent  at  the  request  of  Colonel  Duffield, 
commanding  Twenty-third  Brigade,  for  the  purpose  of 
])rocuriug  an  interview  with  me.  I  returned  to  town 
with  the  flag,  had  an  interview  with  the  colonel  com- 
manding, in  which  I  learned  that  we  were  attacked  by 
the  rebel  General  Forrest  with  a  brigade  of  cavalry. 
Learning   from    the  colonel   that   the  enemy  were   in 

23 


354         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

overwhelming  force,  and  that  even  should  the  road  be 
uninjured  the  forces  at  Nashville  were  absent  upon  an 
expedition,  and  that  there  was  no  hope  of  reinforce- 
ments, at  his  suggestion  I  agreed  to  refer  the  matter  of 
surrender  to  my  officers.  Accordingly,  the  matter  was 
represented  to  them  as  derived  from  Colonel  Duffield, 
and  the  great  majority,  looking  upon  further  resistance 
as  involving  the  certainty  of  an  ultimate  defeat  with 
great  loss,  and  with  no  possibility  of  an  escape  or  as- 
sistance, it  was  decided  to  surrender,  which  was  done 
at  3.30  P.M." 

Colonel  Duffield,  though  regarded  as  an  able  man, 
was  at  the  time  of  this  interview  a  prisoner,  and  suffer- 
ing from  a  painful  wound,  and  his  views  were  not  en- 
titled to  great  weight.  But  Colonel  Lester's  represen- 
tation of  his  views  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  Colonel 
Duffield's  brother.  Lieutenant  Duffield,  who  came  to 
our  regiment  with  the  flag,  earnestly  expressed  himself 
in  favor  of  our  being  surrendered.  Captain  Hewitt, 
commanding  the  two  sections  Kentucky  artillery,  also 
earnestly  advocated  a  surrender.  Tlie  statement  of 
General  T.  T.  Crittenden,  in  his  report,  is  also  true,  that 
on  the  first  vote  of  our  company  commanders  and  lieuten- 
ant-colonel, which  Avas  open,  a  majority  voted  to  fight ; 
that  one  or  more  left  the  council  and  returned  to  their 
companies ;  that  Colonel  Lester  afterwards  reopened 
and  reargued  the  matter ;  that  a  vote  by  ballot  was  then 
taken,  resulting  in  a  majority  for  surrender.  But  it  is 
well  known  that  the  lieutenant-colonel,  C.  W.  Griggs, 
and  two  company  commanders  in  that  ballot  voted, 
as  they  had  strongly  counselled  throughout,  to  fight. 
Major  Mattson  was  absent   on   detached  duty.      The 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL   C.  C.  ANDREWS.         355 

council  was  public,  in  the  front  yard  of  Murfree's  house, 
and  the  commanders  of  all  companies  in  tlie  regiment 
were  present  except  First  Lieutenant  Vanstrum,  of  Com- 
pany D.  The  first  vote  was  by  raising  hands,  and  those 
who  voted  against  surrender  were  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Griggs  and  Captains  Foster,  Andrews,  and  Hoyt,  and 
Lieutenant  Taylor,  commanding  Company  H.  Two 
captains  did  not  vote,  and  the  result  was  four  for  sur- 
render and  five  against.  A  request  was  made  that  all 
should  vote.  Thereupon  the  colonel  reopened  the 
discussion,  stating  the  reasons  which  induced  him  to 
favor  a  surrender.  Other  oflScers  spoke,  some  earnestly 
against,  others  for,  surrender,  and  among  the  latter  some 
lieutenants  who  had  no  vote.  The  colonel  j^roposed 
there  should  be  a  final  vote  by  ballot,  but  meantime 
Captain  Foster  and  Lieutenant  Taylor  had  gone  to 
their  respective  companies,  and  there  were  only  three 
officers  who  voted  against  surrender, — namely,  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Griggs,  Captain  Andrews,  and  Captain 
Hoyt.     Six  voted  to  surrender. 

Some  of  the  stories  that  were  circulated  in  Minne- 
sota after  the  surrender,  sucli,  for  example,  as  that 
one  of  the  officers  who  opposed  surrender  broke  his 
sword,  and  that  the  colonel  was  actuated  by  corrupt  or 
disloyal  motives,  were  without  foundation.  General 
Buell,  however,  characterized  the  surrender  in  general 
orders  as  one  of  the  most  disgraceful  examj^les  in  the 
history  of  wars.  In  December,  1862,  the  commanding 
general  of  the  Department  of  the  Northwest  trans- 
mitted to  the  War  Department  a  statement  of  the  con- 
dition the  regiment  was  then  in,  and  the  facts  in  regard 
to  the  surrender,  but  without  making  any  recoramen- 


356         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

dation.  Thereupon  tlie  President  issued  an  order  sum- 
marily dismissing  all  the  officers  who  voted  for  or 
counselled  the  surrender.  The  Governor  of  Minnesota 
then  promoted  C.  W.  Griggs  to  be  colonel,  and  C.  C. 
Andrews  to  be  lieutenant-colonel,  H.  Mattson  remain- 
ing as  major.  After  the  fall  of  Vicksburg,  Colonel 
Griggs,  who  had  proved  a  valuable  officer,  resigned, 
and  w^as  succeeded  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Andrews, 
and  on  the  promotion  of  the  latter  to  be  brigadier- 
general,  May,  1864,  he  was  succeeded  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Mattson. 

Let  us  now  notice  the  Confederate  account  of  this 
affair,  given  in  the  work  before  referred  to,  Generals 
Jordan  and  Prior's  "  History  of  General  Forrest's  Cam- 
paigns," a  narrative  which  General  Forrest  himself 
pronounced  authentic.  It  is  there  stated  that  Forrest, 
who  at  that  time,  it  seems,  had  not  received  his  com- 
mission as  brigadier-general,  on  July  6  began  to  cross 
the  Tennessee  River  at  Chattanooga  with  about  one 
thousand  cavalry, — Eighth  Texas,  four  hundred ;  Sec- 
ond Georgia,  four  hundred  and  fifty;  battalion  of  Ten- 
nesseeans,  under  Major  Baxter  Smith,  one  hundred 
and  twenty ;  and  two  companies  of  Kentuckians.  He 
reached  Altamont,  near  the  summit  of  the  Cumber- 
lands,  the  lOtli ;  formed  junction  with  Colonel  Morri- 
son and  his  battalion,  some  three  hundred  strong,  the 
evening  of  the  11th,  at  a  point  ten  miles  northeast  of 
Sparta,  and  reached  Woodbury,  eighteen  miles  from 
Murfreesboro',  "  with  somewhat  above  thirteen  hundred 
men,"  at  eleven  o'clock  the  night  of  the  12th.  That 
on  the  morning  of  the  13th,  after  the  combat  with  the 
Ninth  Michigan,  "Forrest  made  his  dispositions  imme- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  C.  C.  ANDREWS.         357 

diately  to  attack  the  Third  Minnesota,  reported  to  be 
encamped  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Stone  River,  about 
one  mile  and  a  half  from  the  town.  On  reachins:  the 
encampment  it  was  found  comparatively  evacuated,  the 
Federals  having  just  moved  out  in  the  direction  of  Mur- 
freesboro'  to  join  their  comrades  in  that  quarter.  For- 
rest's force  assembled  for  this  affair  consisted  of  the  Geor- 
gians, Major  Smith's  Tennesseeans,  the  Kentucky  squad- 
ron, and  some  twenty  men  under  Paul  F.  Anderson. 
Seeing  the  Confederates  approach,  the  Federals,  then 
about  six  hundred  yards  southward  of  their  camp, 
halted  and  formed  in  line  of  battle,  some  nine  com- 
]3anies  of  infantry  and  four  pieces  of  artillery.  Direct- 
ing the  Georgians  to  confront  and  menace  the  enemy 
and  engage  with  skirmishers,  taking  Major  Smith  with 
his  men,  including  the  Kentuckians  and  three  compa- 
nies of  Morrison's  Georgians,  under  Major  Harper, 
Forrest  pushed  rapidly  around  to  the  right  and  rear 
of  the  encampment,  which  proved  to  be  still  occupied 
by  about  one  hundred  men,  posted  behind  a  strong 
barricade  of  wagons  and  some  large  limestone  ledges, 
which  afforded  excellent  cover,  difficult  to  carry.  He 
thereupon  ordered  a  charge.  Majors  Smith  and  Harper 
leading  their  men.  They  were  met,  however,  with  a 
stubborn,  brave  defence.  Twice,  indeed,  the  Confeder- 
ates were  repulsed.  But  Forrest,  drawing  his  men  u]) 
for  a  third  effort,  made  a  brief  appeal  to  their  man- 
hood, and,  putting  himself  at  the  head  of  the  column, 
the  charge  was  again  ordered,  this  time  with  success." 

We  thus  see  from  Forrest's  own  account  of  the  com- 
bat, written  soon  after  the  war,  that  the  little  camp- 
guard  of  the  Third  Minnesota,  with  convalescents  and 


358         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

teamsters,  gallantly  repulsed  two  separate  charges  of 
fully  four  times  their  number,  led  by  two  field  officers, 
and  were  only  defeated  after  a  third  charge,  led  by 
Forrest  in  person.  That  combat,  in  which  we  lost  two 
killed  and  nine  wounded,  was  a  fair  sample  of  the  fight- 
ing qualities  of  the  Third  Minnesota ;  and  no  one  well 
acquainted  with  the  regiment  has  ever  doubted  that, 
had  an  ojDj^ortunity  been  afforded,  it  would  have  en- 
gaged Forrest's  whole  force  with  the  same  heroic  valor. 
The  brave  corporal,  Charles  H.  Greene,  of  Company 
I,  who  rallied  our  little  force  at  the  camp,  did  not 
yield  till  he  had  received  a  severe  sabre-cut  on  his  head 
and  two  bullet  wounds.  From  his  dying  lips  as  he  lay 
at  our  camp  I  received  an  account  of  the  combat  similar 
to  that  given  by  General  Forrest.  Corporal  Greene's 
home  was  in  Morrison  County,  where,  in  honor  of  his 
memory,  a  township  and  prairie  have  been  named  after 
him. 

After  the  surrender  several  of  our  officers,  with  Gen- 
eral Forrest,  went  through  our  camp  and  observed  the 
burned  remnants  of  the  officers'  tents  and  personal 
property.  The  aggregate  loss  must  have  been  consid- 
erable. After  getting  settled  in  our  prison  quarters 
at  Madison,  Georgia,  I  figured  up  my  own  loss  of 
clothing  and  other  effects,  which  amounted  to  upwards 
of  three  hundred  dollars  (I  do  not  include  in  this  a 
bugle  which  I  would  now  give  a  hundred  dollars  to 
have  back)  ;  but,  so  far  as  I  know,  none  of  our  officers 
ever  made  a  claim  or  received  any  compensation  for  any 
loss  of  property  on  that  occasion.  I  myself  suffered 
additional  loss.  The  preceding  afternoon  I  went  with 
some  officer  horseback  to  brigade  headquarters  in  town. 


ADDBESS  BY  GENERAL   C.  C.  ANDREWS.  359 

A  short  distance  from  camp  we  met  a  colored  man  with 
a  pair  of  live  chickens  to  sell.  I  bought  them  of  him 
and  paid  in  silver  (not  very  common  coin  in  those 
days),  and  directed  him  where  to  deliver  them.  Ho 
delivered  them  to  my  servant  and  collected  pay  of  him 
likewise.  The  next  morning  the  chickens  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Confederates. 

All  my  baggage  having  been  destroyed,  I  had,  when 
caj3tured,  only  the  every-day  clothes  I  had  on.  When 
we  had  about  reached  the  southern  boundary  of  Ten- 
nessee I  began,  therefore,  to  negotiate  for  another  shirt. 
A  kind  Southerner  at  a  place  where  we  stopped  for 
dinner  gave  me  one.  Farther  along,  among  a  party  of 
Confederates  whom  we  met  was  an  officer,  who  came  and 
voluntarily  gave  me  ten  dollars  in  Confederate  money, 
— as  good  there  as  greenbacks, — though  I  never  saw 
him  before  or  since.  I  will  say  that  the  Confederate 
officers  who  conducted  us  to  Knoxville  always  treated 
us  in  a  courteous  manner. 

It  will  be  of  peculiar  interest  here  to  refer  to  the 
criticism  which  General  Grant  in  his  "  Memoirs"  has 
made  of  General  Buell's  failure  to  march  into  East 
Tennessee.  We  have  seen  that  Buell,  to  prepare  for 
his  movement,  had  undertaken  not  only  to  rebuild  the 
Nashville  and  Chattanooga  Railroad,  which  was  ready 
July  12,  but  also  the  railroad  from  Memphis  to  Chatta- 
nooga, which  was  not  yet  quite  ready.  General  Grant 
thought  that  his  waiting  to  repair  the  latter  railroad 
was  a  great  mistake,  and  that  the  road  from  Nashville 
to  Chattanooga  {via  Murfreesboro')  was  sufficient  for 
his  purpose.  He  says,  if  General  Buell  "  had  been  sent 
directly  to  Chattanooga  as  rapidly  as  he  could  march, 


360         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

leaving  two  or  three  divisions  along  the  line  of  the 
railroad  from  Nashville  forward,  he  could  have  arrived 
with  but  little  fighting,  and  would  have  saved  much  of 
the  loss  of  life  which  was  afterwards  incurred  in  gain- 
ing Chattanooga.  Bragg  would  then  not  have  had  time 
to  raise  an  army  to  contest  the  possession  of  Middle  and 
East  Tennessee  and  Kentucky ;  the  battles  of  Stone 
River  and  Chickamauga  would  not  necessarily  have 
been  fought ;  Burnside  would  not  have  been  besieged 
in  Kuoxville  without  the  power  of  helping  himself  or 
escaping.  The  battle  of  Chattanooga  would  not  have 
been  fought.  .  .  .  The  positive  results  might  have  been 
a  bloodless  advance  to  Atlanta,  to  Vicksburg,  or  to  any 
other  desired  point  south  of  Corinth  in  the  interior  of 
Mississippi." 

If  the  consequences  of  Buell's  failure  to  take  Chat- 
tanooga were  so  momentous,  then  a  deep  interest  will 
always  attach  to  whatever  retarded  his  movement,  and 
especially  to  the  reverse  at  Murfreesboro'.  It  may  be 
saying  too  much  to  attribute  Buell's  failure  solely  to 
that  disaster.  One  of  its  immediate  effects,  however, 
was  to  put  his  army  on  half  rations.  It  compelled 
him  to  send  a  division  under  Nelson  to  re-occupy  Mur- 
freesboro', and  two  brigades  of  Wood's  division,  by 
forced  marches,  from  Decatur  to  Shelbyville.  The  use 
of  the  railroad  was  set  back  two  weeks.  If  the  forces 
under  Forrest  July  13  had  been  thoroughly  whipped 
and  routed  as  they  ought  to  have  been,  and  as  they 
would  have  been  had  the  Third  Minnesota  had  a 
chance  to  engage  them,  I  cannot  but  think  that  Gen- 
eral Buell  would  have  seasonably  put  his  army  in  mo- 
tion, and  that  it  would  have  accomplished  its  object. 


ABDEESS  BY  GENERAL   C.  C.  ANDREWS.         3gl 

The  parole  of  the  enlisted  men  did  not  prevent  their 
taking  part  in  the  Indian  war,  and  the  frontier  settlers 
were  glad  of  their  presence.  In  the  decisive  battle  of 
Wood  Lake,  where  their  casualties  were  forty  in  killed 
and  wounded,  they  displayed  almost  an  excess  of  cour- 
age, as  if  eager  to  wipe  out  the  recollection  of  Mur- 
freesboro'.  General  Sibley,  in  his  official  report  of 
that  battle,  says,  "  Major  Welsh,  of  the  Third  Regi- 
ment (tem23orarily  in  command),  was  instantly  in  line 
with  his  command,  by  whom  the  savages  were  gallantly 
met,  and  after  a  conflict  of  a  serious  nature  repulsed." 
After  the  reorganization  of  the  regiment  with  C.  W. 
Griggs  as  colonel  it  performed  in  the  first  part  of  1863 
valuable  scouting  duty  on  the  line  of  the  Lower  Ten- 
nessee. At  Vicksburg  it  formed  a  part  of  the  covering- 
army  which  watched  and  prepared  for  an  expected  at- 
tack of  the  forces  under  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston. 
There,  in  the  hot  malarial  climate  of  the  Yazoo,  it 
toiled  for  weeks  in  defensive  works,  felling  the  heavy 
hard  timber  that  covered  the  rich  ravines  and  con- 
structing field  fortifications ;  performing  likewise  its 
share  of  outpost  duty.  Yet,  when  after  the  fall  of 
Vicksburg  it  arrived  at  Helena,  Arkansas,  to  take  j^art 
in  General's  Steele's  movement  upon  Little  Rock,  it 
had  four  hundred  efiective  men,  and  formed  about  the 
largest  regiment  in  his  column. 

My  first  interview  with  General  Grant  was  at  his 
headquarters  during  the  siege,  and  a  couple  of  weeks 
before  the  fall  of  Vicksburg,  while  our  regiment  was 
at  Snyder's  Bluff.  Before  leaving  Columbus,  Ken- 
tucky, I  had  received  from  Major  Rowley,  provost- 
marshal  on  General  Grant's  staff,  and  one  of  his  old 


362         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

Galena  friends,  a  letter  of  introduction  to  General  Kaw- 
lins,  chief  of  staff.     Major  Rowley  at  the  same  time 
gave  me  as  a  curiosity  a  five-cent   pasteboard   check 
issued  by  the  Grant  business  house  at  Galena,  such  as 
everywhere  in  our  country,  in  that  era,  formed  a  part 
of  the  dreadful  local  currency.     In  this  visit  to  Gen- 
eral Grant  I  was  accompanied  by  Major  Mattson  of 
our  regiment.     It  was  in  the  forenoon  of  a  clear  hot 
day,  and  the  road  leading  up  to  headquarters  was  mealy 
with  dust.     General  Rawlins  was  standing  at  a  desk  at 
work,  and  seemed  to  be  overworked.    We  were  promptly 
admitted  to  the  presence  of  General  Grant,  who  was 
sitting  in  a  cam23-chair  under  an  awning  out  in  front 
of  his  and  the  staff  tents,  smoking  a  cigar  and  talking 
with  a  civilian.     He  received  us  in  a  friendly  yet  busi- 
ness-like manner,  and  as  soon  as  his  conversation  with 
the  civilian  was  over  turned  his  whole  attention  to  us. 
He  was  clad  in  a  simple  suit  of  army  flannel,  looked 
rather  thin  in  flesh,  yet  in  excellent  health,  and  his 
face  indicated  strictly   temperate   habits, — a  fact  that 
struck  me  particularly,  because  the  air  was  then  full  of 
rumors  about  his  excessive  drinking.     The  tents  were 
all  open ;  everything  was  visible,  and  the  most  strictly 
abstemious  camp  could  not  have  furnished  surer  signs 
of  temperance.      As  we  had  called  solely  to  pay  our 
respects   General    Grant   talked  without   reserve,  and 
principally  about  the  liability  of  an   attack  from  the 
rear  by  General  Johnston,  saying  among  other  things 
that  he  could  spare  so  many  (perliaj^s  forty  thousand) 
men  in  support  of  the  forces  at  Snyder's  Bluff  and  still 
hold  Vicksburg,  to  use  his  own  words,  "as  tight  as 
wax." 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL   C.  C.  ANDREWS.         3^3 

The  impression  I  acquired  of  General  Grant  from 
that  brief  interview  was  most  favorable.  He  appeared 
to  me  to  be  a  man  entirely  devoid  of  everything  like 
humbug, — in  a  word,  to  be  the  right  man  in  the  right 
place. 

It  was  now  over  a  year  since  the  regiment  was  sur- 
rendered, all  of  which  time  it  had  been  without  a  flag. 
When,  therefore,  General  Steele  reviewed  the  regiment 
at  Helena  the  day  before  starting  for  Little  Kock  and 
exclaimed,  "  Your  colors,  colonel !"  I  was  taken  by  sur- 
prise. I  had  about  forgotten  that  a  regiment  carried 
colors.  My  mind  had  been  more  occupied  in  getting  a 
medical  wagon  and  the  usual  antidotes  against  malaria. 

[General  Frederick  Steele  was  an  amiable  and  able 
man,  a  thorough  gentleman  and  patriot,  and  much  liked 
by  his  command.] 

Our  march  to  Little  Rock  was  very  slow  and  trying. 
We  were  called  up  as  early  as  two  or  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  sometimes  after  our  regiment  had 
got  breakfast  and  was  in  line  ready  to  move  we  were 
kept  waiting  a  full  hour  for  others  to  get  ready.  Be- 
tween the  Mississippi  and  AVhite  River  we  crossed  a 
magnificent  forest,  and  in  the  clearings  were  a  few  peach 
orchards.  One  could  not  fail  to  admire  the  rich  Ar- 
kansas vegetation,  both  in  forest  and  field,  but  I  think 
our  principal  "  collections"  were  made  from  a  plant 
having  a  creeping  vine  and  called  the  sweet-potato. 

At  daybreak,  September  10,  when  Steele's  army 
moved  upon  Price's  works,  a  few  miles  below  Little 
Rock,  the  Third  Regiment  was  accorded  the  infantry 
advance,  and  was  for  some  time  under  artillery  fire 
while  protecting  the  laying  of  a  pontoon-bridge. 


364         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

As  we  were  entering  the  city  the  next  forenoon, 
Colonel  Manter,  General  Steele's  chief  of  staff,  rode  up 
to  me,  and,  much  to  my  surprise,  said  that  General 
Steele  directed  that  I  should  take  command  of  the  post 
of  Little  Rock  and  put  my  regiment  on  guard  duty  in 
the  city.  We  then  repaired  to  the  State-house,  raised 
the  United  States  flag  from  its  dome,  where,  without  a 
single  day's  interruption,  it  has  ever  since  floated.  The 
Third  Regiment  was  quartered  several  months  in  the 
State-house.  As  I  had  been  suflering  from  intermit- 
tent fever  for  some  time,  my  first  duties  at  Little  Rock 
were  performed  while  lying  on  my  back.  Besides  visits 
I  received  many  letters  from  various  citizens.  I  re- 
member one  from  a  school-mistress,  who  wrote  to  in- 
quire whether  her  school  would  be  disturbed.  She 
added,  that  ever  since  the  arrival  of  the  Federal  troops 
she  had  felt  more  rebellious  than  ever.  I  replied  that 
her  school  would  not  be  disturbed;  on  the  contrary, 
that  schools  were  just  the  things  we  would  protect. 

In  the  battle  of  Fitzhugh's  AVoods,  near  Augusta, 
Arkansas,  April  1,  1864,  a  detachment  of  the  Third 
Minnesota,  under  immediate  command  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Foster,  with  Captain  Matthews's  company  of 
the  Eighth  Missouri  Cavalry,  successfully  repulsed  an 
attack  of  a  largely  suj)erior  force  under  General  Dan- 
bridge  McRea.  Our  force,  scarcely  two  hundred,  was 
returning  from  a  scouting  march,  and  when  we  had 
about  six  miles  yet  to  march  to  reach  our  boat  at  Au- 
gusta, we  were  nearly  surrounded  and  attacked  by  the 
mounted  and  dismounted  forces  of  General  McRea, 
on  ground  of  his  own  choosing,  near  a  large  swamp. 
His  force  consisted  of  a  regiment  of  four  hundred  men 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL   C.  C.  A2WREWS.         3^5 

under  Colonel  Thomas  Freeman,  of  Missouri,  three 
companies  under  Major  George  Rutherford,  and  an  in- 
dependent company.  A  Confederate  colonel  j^reseut  in 
McRea's  command,  and  who  was  afterwards  captured, 
related  that  on  this  imposing  demonstration  of  their 
forces,  and  seeing  our  relative  weakness,  they  fully  ex- 
pected to  see  us  put  up  a  white  flag.  Instead  of  doing 
that  the  detachment  of  the  Third  immediately,  and  as 
if  by  instinct,  threw  itself  into  line  and  commenced 
firing  at  will.  During  the  combat,  which  lasted  over 
two  hours,  an  impetuous  and  tumultuous  charge  of  the 
enemy,  led  by  a  number  of  their  chiefs,  was  met  by  a 
very  resolute  counter-charge  by  the  Third,  which  seemed 
to  prove  decisive,  though  firing  continued  for  some  time 
afterwards.  The  loss  which  the  detachment  of  the 
Third  Minnesota  sustained  in  that  combat  was  seven 
killed  and  twenty  wounded,  and  the  Confederates,  whose 
loss  was  severe,  always  accorded  it  the  credit  of  having 
made  an  uncommonly  stubborn,  gallant,  and  effective 
resistance.  We  finally  resumed  our  march  of  six 
miles,  which  was  made  in  good  order,  to  our  boat  at 
Augusta. 

When,  after  Banks's  defeat  on  the  Red  River,  Gen- 
eral Steele,  who  had  hoped  to  join  him,  was  at  Camden, 
Arkansas,  on  his  way  back  to  Little  Rock,  and  pursued 
by  a  superior  army  under  E.  Kirby  Smith,  a  heavy  su2> 
ply-train  for  his  hungry  army,  with  a  column  of  three 
thousand  of  all  arms  as  escort,  was  about  being  started 
to  him  from  Pine  Bluff,  Arkansas.  Having  then  just 
received  my  commission  as  a  general  officer,  the  duty 
of  conducting  this  train  and  escort  was  assigned  to  me. 
An  empty  train,  with  brigade  escort,  coming  from  Cam- 


366         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

den  to  Pine  Bluff,  on  the  road  I  was  to  take,  after  hard 
fighting,  had  just  been  captured.    The  road  lay  through 
woods  swarming  with  the  enemy,  and  the  duty  before 
me  seemed  extremely  perilous.     The  Third  Regiment 
(then  commanded  by  Colonel  H.  Mattson,  who  remained 
its  colonel  till  its  muster-out)  was  still  on  duty  as  pro- 
vost guard  in  Little  Rock,  and  knowing  as  I  did  that 
I  could  depend  on  the  skill  and  bravery  of  that  regi- 
ment in  a  hard  fight,  at  my  request  a  regiment  with 
which  I  was  not  well  acquainted,  and  which  was  march- 
ing to  Pine  Bluff  to  take  part  in  the  movement,  was 
sent  back  to  Little  Rock,  and  the   Third  Minnesota 
taken  in  its  place.     The  Third  went  to  Pine  Bluff,  the 
train  got  lengthened  out,  our  advance  had  gone  twenty 
miles,  and  we  w^ere  waiting   orders  for    the  whole  to 
march,  when  orders  were  received  not  to  go,  because 
General  Steele,  having  fought  a  hard  battle  at  Jenkins's 
Ferry,  was   rapidly  returning   to   Little  Rock.     The 
Third  Regiment's  discipline  and  good  fighting  qualities 
thus  brought  it  to  the  then  unhealthy  locality  of  Pine 
Bluff,  where,  on  account  of  that  place  being  threatened, 
it  was  detained  several  months,  and  suffered  excessive 
mortality  from  malarial  poison.     Under   the  circum- 
stances its  loss  there  was   as    creditable  as  if   it  had 
occurred  in  battle. 

The  Third  had  re-enlisted  as  a  veteran  regiment  for 
another  three  years,  or  during  the  war,  in  tlie  begin- 
ning of  1864.  At  that  time,  and  even  later,  many 
Union  officers  obstructed  rather  than  facilitated  the  en- 
listment of  colored  troops.  Our  regiment  held  different 
views.  Instead  of  leaving  able-bodied  freedmen  to  cul- 
tivate  plantations  of  men   who  were  absent  in   rebel 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL    C.  C.  ANDREWS.         ^Q'J 

armies,  it  preferred  to  make  Union  soldiers  of  them. 
Details  from  our  regiment  recruited  in  all  nearly  men 
enough  to  fill  a  colored  regiment ;  and  while  we  were 
in  Arkansas  over  twenty  members  of  the  Third  Min- 
nesota, mostly  enlisted  men,  on  my  recommendation 
received  commissions  in  colored  regiments. 

Governor  Andrew  Johnson,  April  24,  1862,  tele- 
graphed from  Nashville  to  the  government  at  Wash- 
ington as  follows :  "I  have  this  moment  been  advised 
that  the  Third  Minnesota  Regiment,  stationed  here, 
and  forces  at  Murfreesboro'  and  Lebanon,  have  been 
ordered  south  by  Buell.  These  forces  ought  to  be  de- 
tained where  they  are."  It  was  no  fault  of  the  Third 
Regiment  or  its  officers  that  it  was  not  oftener  in  the 
front.  When  our  forces  entered  Little  Rock,  General 
Steele  selected  it  for  permanent  guard  duty  to  maintain 
order  in  that  city,  because  of  its  good  discipline  and 
reliability,  and  not  at  the  suggestion  or  request  of  any 
one  connected  with  the  regiment.  That  accounts  for 
its  not  having  been  with  him  in  his  severe  battle  at 
Jenkins's  Ferry,  where  he  gained  a  victory  over  the 
forces  of  Kir  by  Smith.  Taken  as  a  whole,  its  record 
in  Arkansas  was  distinguished.  Its  good  behavior  at 
the  capital  exerted  an  important  moral  influence  for 
the  Union  cause;  and  whenever  it  was  employed  in  the 
field,  as  it  was  ultimately  in  numerous  scouting  expe- 
ditions, it  uniformly  returned  with  some  prisoners  of 
war.  At  the  close  of  the  war  it  was  employed  three 
months  preserving  order  and  aiding  reconstruction  in 
Northeastern  Arkansas,  headquarters  at  Jacksonport. 
It  left  Arkansas  in  the  early  part  of  September,  1865, 
having  served  constantly  in  that  State  a  little  over  two 


368  GLIMPSES  OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

years,  and,  returning  to  Fort  Snelling,  it  there,  on  Sep- 
tember 16,  fell  into  line  for  the  last  time. 

Isaac  Murphy,  who  was  the  only  man  in  the  seces- 
sion convention  of  Arkansas  who  voted  "  no,"  and  who, 
like  a  sturdy  patriot  worthy  of  the  best  days  of  repub- 
lican Rome,  steadfastly  adhered  to  the  Union  cause, 
and  was  finally  installed  as  the  first  free  State  Gov- 
ernor of  Arkansas, — this  incorruptible  and  enlightened 
patriot,  in  a  voluntary  communication  which  he  sent  to 
the  Governor  of  Minnesota,  in  token  of  his  admiration 
of  the  Third  Regiment,  said,  "  While  they  have  been 
on  duty  in  our  capital  good  order  has  prevailed,  and 
they  have  won  the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  citizens. 
When  called  to  meet  the  enemy,  they  have  proved 
ready  for  any  undertaking  and  reliable  in  every  emer- 
gency. Such  men  are  an  honor  to  the  government  and 
the  cause  they  serve.  Their  State  may  justly  be  proud 
of  them,  as  they  will  do  her  credit  wherever  duty  calls 
them." 


THE  ILLUSIONS  OF  A  SOLDIER. 

BY  BREVET    BRIGADIER-GENERAL  S.   P.  JENNISON, 

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL,   TENTH   MINNESOTA.   INFANTRY,   U.    S.    TOLUNTEERS. 


It  is  possible  the  title  just  read  may  mislead  your 
expectations.  PerliajDs  it  would  have  been  better  to 
present  the  following  under  the  alternative  title  "  Re- 
marks Appropriate  to  the  First  of  April." 

Every  volunteer  soldier  will  probably  admit  that  he 
had,  at  the  time  and  during  the  period  of  his  enlist- 
ment, misconceptions  of  many  things  in  regard  to  war 
and  battles ;  that  he  found  a  great  many  things  quite 
different  from  his  anticipations.  But  he  will  now  speak 
with  the  utmost  positiveness  of  things  past,  especially  of 
those  in  the  doing  of  which  he  was  a  participant.  There 
can  be  no  mistake  in  what  he  then  saw  and  has  held  in 
vivid  and  often  recurring  remembrance  ever  since. 

The  recent  reading  of  my  own  letters  written  from 
the  army  in  the  field  during  the  civil  war,  and  in  which 
nothing  was  said  which  was  not  then  believed  to  be 
true,  has  impressed  me  that  we  are  yet  the  victims  of 
illusions.  Have  any  of  yon  ever  compared  your  pres- 
ent recollection  of  some  considerable  event  of  the  war 
with  your  written  account  of  the  same  given  in  some 
private  letter  at  the  time,  and  which  you  have  seldom 
seen  since  to  refresh,  as  lawyers  say,  your  recollection  ? 
When  you  do  you  will  be  surprised  at  the  variance. 

24  S69 


370         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

Not  only  will  incidents  be  found  in  one  that  are  want- 
ing in  the  other,  which  would  be  natural  enough,  since 
in  no  one  account  would  probably  all  the  incidents  be 
contained,  but  you  will  find  that  you  have  transferred 
incidents  from  some  other  occasion,  and  that  your  trust- 
worthy memory  has  adopted  as  personally  known  facta 
the  inferential  conclusions  which  have  seemed  to  you 
reasonable  to  fill  out  and  complete  the  account  as  your 
remembrance  now  renders  it. 

A  variety  of  considerations  have  induced  many  of 
the  commanders  of  armies  in  the  Rebellion  on  both 
sides  to  write  their  memoirs  or  accounts  of  their  cam- 
paigns. There  is  hardly  an  instance  in  which  the 
writer  does  not  betray  some  present  illusion,  commit 
some  error,  by  trusting  to  his  so  vivid  recollection.  In 
some  cases  the  kindly  judgment  of  comrades  expressed 
at  the  time  has  been  clearly  colored  by  subsequent 
companionship  with  enemies  of  those  comrades.  In 
other  cases  recollection  has  been  warped  in  the  other 
direction.  Every  article  in  the  magazine  is  followed 
by  notes  of  correction  in  subsequent  numbers,  or  by 
extended  articles  of  refutation  in  other  magazines. 
This  holds  equally  of  Federal  and  of  Confederate  ac- 
counts, and  the  corrections  of  each  come,  as  a  rule,  not 
from  the  other  side,  but  from  the  mistaken  writer's 
comrades.  Thus  General  Grant's  recollection  was  cor- 
rected from  his  official  reports  by  General  W.  F.  Smith, 
and  a  Confederate  commander  having  published  as  of 
his  own  knowledge  that  a  reconnoissance  of  the  field 
of  Longstreet's  battle  on  the  second  day  at  Gettysburg 
was  made  on  the  afternoon  of  the  first  day  and  Long- 
street's   attack   ordered   for   daylight  which  was   not 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL   S.  P.  JENNISON.  37 1 

begun  till  half- past  three  in  the  afternoon,  General 
Longstreet  shows  from  the  oflScial  reports  of  the  ac- 
cusing officer  and  all  others  that  the  field  of  the  pre- 
tended reconnoissance  was  far  within  the  Federal  lines 
all  the  first  day  and  the  night  following. 

The  late  Colonel  Scott,  who  had  charge  of  the  war 
records,  said  that  the  calls  on  him  from  officers  on  both 
sides  were  innumerable.  Yet  a  good  many  should 
have  called  on  him  sooner  than  they  did.  After  twice 
hearing  an  officer  of  his  acquaintance  describe  the  battle 
of  the  "Monitor"  and  the  "Merriraac"  as  an  eye-witness, 
telling  about  his  field-glass  and  his  point  of  observa- 
tion, Scott  looked  up  the  official  reports  made  by  the 
officer  himself,  and  found  that  he  had  reported  that  he 
was  at  Falls  Church  on  the  day  of  the  battle. 

"  One  day,"  said  Scott,  "  an  old  officer  came  in  here 
and  excitedly  exclaimed,  '  Have  you  said  I  was  not  in 
the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run  ?'  '  No ;  not  exactly 
that,'  said  Scott.  '  Well,  Bob  Scott,'  resumed  the  other, 
*  I  was  told  you  said  so,  and  I  came  in  to  put  daylight 
through  you  if  you  stuck  to  it.'  '  Oh,  no,'  replied 
Scott,  '  I  never  said  you  were  not  in  that  battle.  What 
I  said  was  that  you  yourself,  in  an  official  report  dated 
the  day  of  the  battle,  had  said  you  were  in  the  Cum- 
berland Valley,  a  hundred  miles  from  Centreville  and 
Bull  Run  !'  "  Scott  called  a  clerk  and  had  the  report 
brought,  which  the  officer  read  twice  through  in  solid 
silence,  then  rose,  took  his  hat  and  left  without  a  word. 
Evidently  our  recollections,  both  of  volunteers  and 
regulars,  are  full  of  illusions.  Or  perhaps  the  official 
reports  were  written  too  soon. 

But  marvellous  as  are  the  performances  of  our  mem- 


372         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

ories,  they  are  not  equal  to  the  refinement  of  detail  re- 
quired of  them  by  some  of  our  comrades.     Is  there  a 
redmental  officer  amono;  vou  who  has  not  been  asked 
to  remember  that  on  a  certain  day's  march  he  found 
Stanislaus  Olaffson,  an  enlisted  man  of  his  command, 
lying  exhausted  by  the  roadside,  having  set  out  before 
the  regiment  because  he  was  sick,  but  resolved  to  go, 
and  that  you  yourself  then  put  him  into  an  ambulance, 
with  a  remark  flattering  to  his  soldierly  qualities,  or 
commiserative  of  his  disability,  or  both,  which  remark 
is  repeated  to  you  verbatim?     I  have  been  recently 
asked  to  remember  the  men  composing  a  certain  detail 
which  my  correspondent  remembered  that  I  made  as 
adjutant   of   the    Second   Minnesota   in    1863.      That 
would  not  have  been  so  hard  if  I  had  not  ceased  to 
belong  to  that  regiment  in  1862.     One  man,  to  estab- 
lish his  identity  in  my  mind  and  excite  my  recollec- 
tion of  his  disability  by  alleging  a  superfluous  ability, 
sent  me  the  additional  particular  that  he  was  the  man 
who  stole  the  horse  for  me  in  Alabama.    On  my  denying 
that  anybody  stole  a  horse  for  me,  and  saying  that  it  was 
Johnny  Burns  who  conveyed  me  my  Alabama  horse, — 
"  Convey  the  wise  it  call,"— he  said.     "  Yes,  Johnny 
took  it  of  him  ;  he  guessed  I  did  not  know  all  about  it." 
This  activity  of  reminiscence  seems  to  be  peculiar, 
perhaps,  to  war  times,  but  by  no  means  to  the  war  of 
the  Rebellion.     Most  of  you  have  known  veterans  of 
the  Mexican  war.     It  was  my  good  fortune  to  know 
two  who  had  been  officers  in  that  war,  and  who  held 
high  command  among  the  earliest  Minnesota  troops, 
and  many  times  have  I  been  interested  and  astonished 
at  their  remembrances,  and  become  the  pleased  partici- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL   S.  P.  JENNISON.  373 

pant  of  their  illusions,  for  I  have  learned  to  consider 
them  such,  though  it  must  be  confessed  that  an  incred- 
ulous and  especially  an  unmilitary  hearer  would  mis- 
take them  for  downright  and  voluntary  misstatements. 
There  was  a  robustness  about  their  illusions  that  I 
have  never  found  in  those  of  their  successors,  though 
of  these  I  fear  I  have  not  heard  the  best.  One  of  my 
Mexican  war  friends  told  me,  nearly  thirty  years  ago, 
with  much  particularity,  the  details  of  a  two-days' 
battle,  at  the  end  of  which,  for  various  reasons  which 
he  enumerated,  "  when  I  looked  in  my  glass,"  said  he, 
"  my  hair  was  as  white  as  snow."  I  was  then  inex- 
perienced in  military  illusions  and  an  unbeliever.  I 
was  surprised,  for  not  one  hair  of  his  head  or  face  was 
then  anything  but  of  the  deepest  natural  black.  Both 
these  Mexican  veterans  were  black-haired  men.  I  re- 
marked on  the  surprising  fact  that  the  narrator,  a  dozen 
years  after  the  battle,  had  not  a  single  wdiite  hair.  "  It 
turned  back  again,  sir,"  said  he;  "it  turned  back  again : 
in  a  month  my  hair  was  as  black  as  ever." 

"  Why,"  said  I,  "  that  is  more  singular  still.  What 
was  the  manner  of  the  second  change  ?  Did  your  hair 
change  to  black  again  as  a  whole  as  it  had  turned 
white;  did  it  grow  out  its  original  color  from  the  roots, 
as  when  hair  has  been  dyed,  or  did  the  w^hite  hair  fall 
out,  as  sometimes  after  sickness,  and  black  hair  replace 
it  ?"  "  Some  of  it  one  way  and  some  another,  sir," 
answered  the  veteran. 

But  it  is  time  to  confess  to  some  of  the  illusions  of 
the  writer  as  a  volunteer.  They  seem  now  mostly 
quite  absurd,  and  I  hope  no  one  else  shared  them  all. 
The  first  was  that  there  was  some  special  natural  gift 


374         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

requisite  to  success  even  as  a  company  officer  of  in- 
fantry, and  that  the  possession  of  that  gift  was  mani- 
fested always  and  only  by  a  fondness  for  joining 
uniformed  military  companies,  or  for  following  and 
admiring  them  on  parade.  Having  never  possessed 
nor  comprehended  the  taste  for  such  things,  I  feared 
to  be  so  destitute  of  the  military  mind  as  to  be  unable 
to  hold  even  the  lowest  commission.  Another  bugaboo 
in  my  mind  was  the  dread  of  horseback-riding,  and  the 
greater  dread,  which  my  comrades  afterwards  thought 
quite  excusable,  of  being  seen  trying  to  ride  horseback. 
These  illusions  were  then  so  real  to  me  that  they  led  to 
the  declining  of  Governor  Kamsey's  kind  proposition 
to  take  a  staff  aj^pointment.  A  few  weeks'  marching 
in  the  winter  in  Kentucky  made  riding  appear  less 
dreadful,  and  put  an  end  forever  to  that  volunteer's 
declining  anything  worth  having. 

Another  delusion  helped  me  to  take  the  risk  of 
attempting  to  hold  a  second  lieutenancy  without  the 
military  mind.  That  was  an  absurd  belief  in  much  of 
the  rebel  vaunting  that  the  war  would  be  a  desperate 
hand-to-hand  struggle,  much  like  the  Kansas  border- 
ruffian  war,  except  on  a  broader  scale.  For  that  rough 
and  tumble  work  no  excess  of  military  gifts  would  be 
required  in  a  second  lieutenant. 

Partly  from  this  belief,  perhaps,  and  perhaps  from 
ultra  freshness,  came  a  misjudgment  or  want  of  judg- 
ment about  what  would  decide  a  battle,  what  state  or 
condition  of  mind  would  be  reached  by  one  side  when  it 
would  feel  that  it  had  had  enough  and  would  retire.  I 
suppose  it  was  a  sort  of  likening  of  a  battle  to  the  fights 
of  which  I  had  some  knowledge  among  boys,  an  expec- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  S.  P.  JENNISON.  375 

tation  that  the  j)romised  hand-to-hand,  bowie-knife, 
clubbed-musket,  knock-down-and-drag-out  method  of 
warfare  would  decide  the  event,  which  left  always  a 
little  disappointment  when  our  friends,  the  enemy,  re- 
tired so  soon.  Thus  the  battle  of  Mill  Springs,  in 
which  the  Second  Minnesota  was  first  engaged,  was  over 
in  about  thirty  minutes  after  the  boys  opened  fire,  and 
I  was  surjDrised  at  it,  though  not  offended. 

These  illusions  may  not  have  been  shared,  may  not 
be  understood  by  any  other  volunteer,  but  another  one 
was  shared  by  hundreds,' though,  perhaps,  they  will  not 
now  remember  it.  In  fact,  I  did  not,  and  could  not 
now,  believe  it,  if  it  was  not  found  in  dozens  of  letters 
written  home.  '  This  was  the  notion  that  the  war,  at 
least  at  the  West,  would  soon  be  over  after  each  of  our 
small  successes.  It  appeared  after  Mill  Springs,  again 
after  the  capture  of  Fort  Donelson  and  Fort  Henry,  and 
broke  out  afresh  after  the  retreat  of  the  Confederates 
from  Corinth  before  that  general  who  became  after- 
wards chief  of  staff',  but  served  in  that  campaign  as  the 
chief  of  sticks.  This  was  about  the  time,  remember, 
when  General  W.  T.  Sherman,  one  of  the  few  who 
appreciated  the  magnitude  of  the  opened  struggle,  had 
been  thought  insane  for  maintaining  that  an  army  of  a 
hundred  thousand  men  would  be  required  to  secure  the 
success  of  the  Union  arms  between  the  Alleo-hanies  and 
the  Mississippi. 

The  battle  of  Mill  Springs  was  a  small  affair,  as  we 
now  look  at  battles,  but  the  Confederate  forces  so  melted 
away  after  it  that  hopeful  Union  soldiers  may  have  been 
excused  for  cherishing  the  illusion  of  an  early  peace. 
Ten  Confederate  regiments  of  infantry  with  some  inde- 


376         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

peuclent  companies,  six  pieces  of  artillery,  and  two  bat- 
talions of  cavalry  moved  from  their  intrencliraents  on 
the  Cumberland  about  midnight  between  January  18 
and  19,  1862,  to  attack  and  defeat  the  approaching 
forces  of  General  Thomas  before  they  could  concen- 
trate. It  was  intended  to  be  a  surprise,  but  although 
Crittenden  at  daylight  brushed  away  Wolford's  cavalry 
advance  without  checking  his  elan,  the  firing  aroused 
the  two  infantry  regiments  of  the  advanced  brigade,  the 
Fourth  Kentucky  and  Tenth  Indiana,  and  gave  them 
time  for  hurried  preparation.  '  General  Zollicoffer  had 
been  recently  superseded  in  the  command  of  the  rebel 
troops  by  Crittenden,  but  he  accompanied  their  advance, 
and  it  was  he  who  appears  to  have  endeavored  to  gain 
that  advantage  for  his  troops  of  near  approach  to  the 
Federals  under  the  guise  of  friends  before  delivering 
fire,  which  was  so  often  sought  and  won  by  the  rebels 
in  the  beginning  of  the  war.  Whatever  his  purpose  in 
riding  up  to  Colonel  Fry,  of  the  Fourth  Kentucky 
Kegiment,  and  apj)ealing  to  him  not  to  fire  upon  his 
friends,  pointing  to  the  rebels,  he  lost  his  life  for  his 
temerity.  Fry's  regiment  resisted  stoutly  on  the 
ground  where  they  had  been  formed;  the  other  regi- 
ment having  been  put  in  piecemeal  Avas  considerably 
broken  up,  and  fought  with  such  formation  as  it  main- 
tained, on  both  flanks,  and  even,  it  seems,  in  the  ranks 
of  the  Fourth  Kentucky.  To  their  support  General 
Thomas  sent  the  Second  Minnesota  and  the  Ninth  Ohio 
Kegiments.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  com2:)an- 
ionship  of  those  organizations  which  lasted  to  the  end 
of  the  war,  and  which  from  the  first  developed  genuine 
mutual  respect  and  an  affectionate  regard  which  made 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL   S.  P.  JENNISON.  377 

them  even  willing  to  forage  and  steal  subsistence  in 
each  other's  name. 

The  camp  of  the  Second  was  nearest,  and  they  got 
into  action  some  time  first.  They  arrived  in  good 
shape  at  a  rail-fence  on  the  edge  of  a  wood,  the  Ken- 
tuckians  retiring  and  the  Confederates  coming  to  it  at 
about  the  same  moment,  and  their  fire  had  a  strength 
and  effect  unlike  anything  which  the  rebels  had  met 
before.  The  day  was  drizzly  and  damp,  and  guns  soon 
became  foul.  The  smoke  did  not  lift  at  all,  but  after 
two  discharges  hid  the  ■  combatants  almost  fi'om  each 
other.  The  Twelfth  Kentucky  and  two  loyal  Tennessee 
regiments  had  been  ordered  up  from  the  rear  at  the 
beginning  of  the  firing,  and,  presently  appearing  at 
some  distance  on  our  left,  began  to  threaten  the  Con- 
federate right.  Lieutenant  Capon,  of  the  Second,  an 
old  French  soldier,  at  length  saw  signs  of  rebel  waver- 
ing, and  called  out,  "  Captain  Markbara,  it  is  'bout 
time  to  sharge  bayonet."  But  Colonel  Van  Cleve  was 
satisfied  with  the  effect  of  his  rifle  practice,  and  let  his 
men  continue  it.  However,  the  Ninth  Ohio  having 
now  arrived  on  our  right,  it  was  not  long  before  its 
commander,  Colonel  Kammerling,  saw  that  it  was 
facing  the  unstable  left  flank  of  a  disheartened  and 
yielding  centre,  and,  putting  his  Germans  upon  the 
charge,  added  the  last  argument  in  favor  of  a  retreat. 
The  appearance  of  a  full  regiment  in  three-rank  for- 
mation, coming  on  at  the  double-quick  with  levelled 
bayonets,  has  something  logically  persuasive  about  it. 

Seven  regiments  and  two  batteries,  at  the  most,  sent 
the  Confederates  back  to  their  intrenchments,  fired 
with  enthusiasm  to  get  across  the  river ;  and  there  have 


378         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

always  been  differences  of  opinion — illusions,  in  some 
degree — as  to  what  frustrated  the  rebel  design.  The 
Kentuckians  believe  that  the  killing  of  Zollicoffer  by 
their  colonel  discouraged  the  assailants.  The  Minne- 
sotians  think  it  was  their  own  terribly  destructive  fire. 
The  Tennessee  troops  hold  that  they  flanked  them  out, 
and  the  Ninth  Ohio  claim  that  it  was  their  charge  that 
did  it.  The  Tenth  Indiana  reports  that  it  fought  from 
first  to  last,— fought  all  over  the  field,  and  was  every- 
where successful. 

Letters  from  rebel  soldiers  engaged  in  the  affair, 
published  in  Nashville  papers,  represented  that  all  was 
going  prosperously  with  them  till  they  were  hurled  and 
broken  against  a  log  fort  in  which  Thomas  had  massed 
a  brigade.  This  log  fort  was  the  "  Virginny  fence" 
upon  a  slight  ridge  through  and  over  which  the  Second 
Minnesota  gave  and  received  fire.  On  the  right  of  the 
regiment  the  opposing  lines  were  so  near  together,  as  I 
then  wrote,  that  "the  fire  of  the  nearest  rebel  guns 
crossed  the  blaze  of  our  foremost  men.  One  man  was 
so  burned  by  the  powder  from  the  rebel  gun  which 
killed  him  that  he  could  not  be  recognized  for  a  long 
time."  Lieutenant  Baillie  Peyton,  a  Tennesseean,  fell 
with  his  head  reaching  the  fence  over  which  he  was 
shot.  At  the  left  the  ridge  was  a  little  forward  of  the 
fence,  and  the  Johnnies  did  not  come  beyond  the  ridge. 
A  rough  fellow  from  Company  F,  nicknamed  "the 
meek  and  lowly"  lumberman  from  the  St.  Croix,  got 
over  the  fence  to  have  a  better  chance.  Called  back  by 
his  captain,  he  came  over  grumbling  that  it  was  d — d 
hard  if  a  man  couldn't  choose  his  own  ground.  A 
comrade  told  him  to  hush  up,  for  the  colonel  was  right 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  S.  P.  JENNISON.  379 

behind  him.  "  Yes,"  said  he ;  "  I  suppose  he's  watch- 
ing to  see  that  we  don't  steal  these  rails."  Here  fought 
the  Minnesota  men  for  twenty-five  or  thirty  minutes, 
and,  as  they  lost  more  men  than  any  other  regiment, 
and  gave  not  an  inch  of  ground  for  a  moment,  they 
claim  Mill  Springs  as  largely  their  fight. 

The  fact  that  an  Indiana  colonel,  commanding  the 
advanced  brigade,  left  it  at  the  approach  of  the  enemy 
to  go  in  person  to  General  Thomas's  headquarters,  some 
mile  or  more  distant,  to  ask  reinforcements,  was  the 
occasion  of  misconception  or  illusion  at  the  time.  The 
explanation  is  that  the  acting  brigadier,  an  active  poli- 
tician at  home,  was  very  efficient  on  the  stump,  and 
perfectly  overwhelming  on  a  grand  rally.  He  went  to 
use  his  personal  eloquence  to  arouse  General  Thomas 
to  get  out  the  full  party  strength. 

After  the  rebels  fell  back,  or,  to  speak  without  the 
hallucination  of  compliment,  after  they  ran.  General 
Thomas  pursued  in  line  of  battle.  This  formation 
made  the  pursuit  safe  but  slow ;  and  as  no  attempt  at 
an  ambuscade  on  the  part  of  the  rebels  was  observed, 
where  no  chance  was  given  for  any  to  succeed,  the 
commander's  cautious  procedure  was  considerably  crit- 
icised. Indeed,  I  think  among  the  very  ablest  or 
most  voluble  critics  of  military  affairs  at  that  time  it 
was  very  generally  condemned.  Those  ablest  critics, 
so  far  as  they  were  in  the  army  at  all,  were  mostly  in 
the  ranks.  It  was  remarkable  how  few  officers  at  the 
outset,  at  least  above  the  grade  of  second  lieutenant, 
had  any  ideas  of  strategy  or  any  useful,  practical  grasp 
of  grand  tactics.  Most  of  the  men  who  ought  to  have 
been  at  the  head  of  armies  were  at  the  head  of  news- 


380         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

papers.  All  the  rest  of  such,  and  thousands  nearly  as 
good  as  they,  were  in  service  with  very  low  commis- 
sions or  none  at  all. 

We  reached  the  rebel  intrenchments  about  dusk, 
and  as  tlie  fighting  and  marching  had  all  been  done 
fasting,  without  breakfast  or  dinner,  General  Thomas 
bivouacked  his  troops  and  allowed  them  to  get  meals. 
The  rebels  during  the  night  crossed  the  river,  and  in 
the  morning,  as  soon  as  the  last  were  over,  burned  their 
one  small  steamboat.  They  removed  no  stores,  left 
even  their  personal  effects,  clothing,  money,  watches, 
arms,  letters,  daguerreotypes,  etc.  Fourteen  cannon 
and  two  hundred  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  quarter- 
masters' and  commissary  stores  were  captured. 

In  this,  the  first  of  General  Thomas's  battles,  as  in 
his  last  at  Nashville,  the  opposing  army  was  completely 
beaten  and  dissolved ;  dissipated,  if  not  annihilated. 
Criticism  of  General  Thomas  still  continued.  But  it 
tells  his  merit,  and  gives  him  his  unique  position  among 
our  great  generals,  to  say  that  no  enemy,  no  general 
opposed  to  him,  ever  had  anything  to  boast  of  in  the 
results  of  his  opposition.  No  one  ever  surprised  him. 
No  one  whom  he  went  after  ever  slipped  away  from 
him.  No  one  ever  attacked  him  who  did  not  repent 
it.  No  one  was  ever  attacked  by  him  and  lived  to  fight 
another  battle.  No  one  ever  worsted  him  or  deluded 
him.  No  successes  cost  so  few  lives  as  those  he  won. 
No  service  was  so  unquestioningly  and  loyally  done  as 
that  he  rendered.  No  honors  were  so  modestly  borne 
as  those  he  earned.  No  greater  soul  ever  dwelt  in 
human  breast  than  that  we  loved  in  him. 


THE 

OLD  VERMONT  BRIGADE  AT  PETERSBURG. 

BY  BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL  LEWIS  A.  GEANT, 

BREVET   MAJOR-GENERAL    U.  S.  VOLUNTEERS. 


The  three  great  events  of  the  war  were  Gettysburg, 
Vicksburg,  and  Petersburg. 

The  first  two  made  Petersburg  possible.  They  were 
the  great  parallel  events  which  led  us  past  the  turning- 
point  ;  they  were  the  colossal  hinges  upon  which  turned 
back  the  Confederate  success,  opening  the  way  to  Pe- 
tersburg and  final  victory.  The  other  battles  and  cam- 
paigns, important  and  brilliant  as  they  were,  all  con- 
tributed to  the  same  grand  result, — as  the  streams 
flowing  into  our  system  of  great  lakes,  and  the  lakes 
above  the  falls,  clear  and  magnificent,  all  contribute  to 
the  mighty  Niagara. 

The  final  battle  of  Petersburg  was  fought  April  2, 
1865.  It  was  the  crowning  victory  of  the  war,  and 
resulted  in  the  total  defeat  of  the  rebel  army,  the  down- 
fall of  the  Rebellion,  and  the  collapse  of  the  Confeder- 
acy. In  that  triumphant  engagement  the  Old  Vermont 
Bri<rade  led  the  attack  which  carried  the  Confederate 
stronghold,  broke  the  lines,  and  opened  the  gates  to 
Petersburg  and  Richmond. 


381 


382         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

How  that  Old  Brigade  did  it  it  is  my  purpose  to  tell 
you. 

But,  first,  who  and  what  was  the  Old  Brigade  ?  It 
Wiis  a  brigade  of  infantry,  and  it  constituted  the  Second 
Brigade  of  the  Second  Division  of  the  Sixth  Corps. 
It  was  called  the  Vermont  Brigade  because  it  was 
composed  distinctly  of  Vermont  troops.  It  was  called 
the  Old  Vermont  Brigade  because  it  was  the  oldest  or 
First  Vermont  Brigade.  There  was  another  Vermont 
brigade  that  won  immortal  honors  on  the  field  of  Gettys- 
burg. 

The  Old  Vermont  Brigade  sprang  into  existence  on 
the  Potomac  near  Chain  Bridge  in  October,  1861.  It 
was  then  composed  of  the  Second,  Third,  Fourth,  and 
Fifth  Vermont  Regiments  of  Infantry,  and  was  first 
commanded  by  General  W.  F.  Smith,  a  regular  army 
ofiicer  from  Vermont.  He  was  the  first  colonel  of  the 
Third  Vermont,  and  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the 
brigade,  the  division,  and  the  corps. 

Later  in  the  fall  of  1861  the  brigade  was  increased 
by  the  addition  of  the  Sixth  Vermont  Regiment,  and 
General  W.  T.  H.  Brooks,  who  traced  his  pedigree 
back  to  Vermont,  succeeded  to  the  command. 

He  retained  the  command  until  late  in  the  fall  of 
1862.  During  the  next  three  months  there  were  sev- 
eral changes;  the  last  was  in  February,  1863,  when 
the  command  fell  to  the  colonel  of  the  Fifth  Regi- 
ment as  the  ranking  ofiicer  of  the  brigade.  It  need 
only  be  said  that  he  was  a  Vermonter;  that  he  entered 
the  service  from  civil  life  in  September,  1861,  with  the 
rank  of  major ;  that  by  successive  promotions  he  became 
colonel  of  his  regiment  in  September,  1862,  and  took 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  LEWIS  A.   GRANT.       333 

command  of  the  brigade  when  five  months  old  as  a 
colonel,  retaining  it  to  the  end  of  the  war. 

The  sons  of  Vermont,  wherever  found,  possess  an 
ardent  love  for  their  maternal  home.  There  is  some- 
thing about  the  good  old  State  and  its  history,  about  its 
mountains  and  its  valleys,  its  rivers  and  its  rills,  its 
rocks  and  its  hills,  its  maple-sugar  camps  and  speckled- 
trout  brooks,  that  binds  the  heart  of  the  Vermonter  to 
the  State  of  his  birth.  And  the  Vermont  soldier  is 
proud  of  the  military  history  of  his  State. 

The  valor  of  its  Revolutionary  troops  was  recognized 
in  the  distinctive  title  of  the  "  Green  Mountain  Boys," 
and  was  evidenced  at  the  battles  of  Hubbardston  and 
Bennington,  and  at  the  taking  of  Fort  Ticonderoga, 
"  In  the  name  of  the  Great  Jehovah  and  the  Continental 
Congress." 

The  State  also  took  great  pride  in  its  soldiers  and 
watched  over  them  with  a  father's  care.  Probably  no 
State  troops  were  put  into  the  field  better  clothed  and 
equipped.  Not  only  did  the  State  first  clothe  and 
equip  its  enlisted  men,  but  it  gave  the  officers  their  first 
uniform  and  side-arms,  and  gave  horses  to  the  mounted 
officers  of  the  first  two  or  three  regiments.  And  all 
during  the  war  Vermont  paid  its  common  soldiers 
seven  dollars  per  month  in  addition  to  the  pay  of  the 
general  government.  Regularly  the  State  paymaster 
appeared  in  the  field  or  camp ;  trusted  agents  of  the 
State  came  and  carried  to  homes  and  families  and  sav- 
ings-banks such  surplus  funds  as  the  soldiers  desired 
to  send ;  eminent  physicians  came  to  administer  to  the 
sick  and  look  after  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  camps ; 
ministers  of  the   gospel  brought  the  glad  tidings  of 


384         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

peace  and  labored  in  hospitals;  the  Legislature  sus- 
pended the  collection  of  debts  against  soldiers  in  the 
field,  and  provided  for  their  right  to  vote  at  general 
elections ;  and  the  Vermont  soldier  felt  that  the  loved 
ones  at  home  were  cared  for. 

The  policy  of  the  State  was  to  keep  its  regiments 
well  filled  by  recruits  instead  of  multiplying  organiza- 
tions. Under  this  policy  the  regiments  of  the  Old 
Brigade  received  frequent  reinforcements.  Much  was 
given  and  much  was  required.  The  brigade  bore  the 
severest  part  of  the  service,  and  was  actively  engaged 
in  nearly  every  battle  of  the  Armies  of  the  Potomac 
and  Shenandoah,  and  its  losses  were  heavy. 

Having  said  this  much  of  the  history  and  personnel 
of  the  brigade,  let  us  proceed  to  Petersburg. 

The  spring  of  1864  found  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
in  fine  condition,  and  ready  for  the  terrible  work  which 
awaited  it.  A  separate  army  under  Burnside  was  sent 
to  co-operate ;  Grant  came  in  person ;  and  everything 
indicated  a  campaign  of  unusual  vigor  and  interest. 

We  broke  camp  near  Brandy  Station  May  4,  crossed 
the  Bapidan,  and  fought  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness, 
the  5th,  6th,  and  7th  days  of  May.  It  was  a  terrible 
conflict  in  the  midst  of  brush  and  a  thick  growth  of 
small  timber  so  dense  that  the  contending  forces  ap- 
proached within  a  few  yards  of  each  other,  and  but 
little  artillery  could  be  used.  In  the  first  day's  engage- 
ment the  Vermont  Brigade  fought  and  held  its  position 
against  three  or  four  times  its  own  number.  Some  idea 
of  the  fierceness  of  the  struggle  can  be  had  by  a  state- 
ment of  the  losses.  The  brigade  went  into  the  engage- 
ment with  a  little  less  than  three  thousand  men  and 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  LEWIS  A.    GRANT.        335 

lost  twelve  hundred  and  thirty-two ;  nearly  all  killed 
and  wounded ;  there  were  but  few  missing.  Of  the 
regimental  commanders  two  were  killed,  two  were 
severely  wounded,  and  one  only  was  unhurt,  and  there 
remained  but  one  officer  of  the  brigade  staff.  We  often 
speak  of  commands  being  decimated,  using  this  lan- 
guage to  express  great  loss,  but  here  was  a  command 
that  lost  more  than  one-third  of  its  number  in  a  single 
but  protracted  battle  of  three  days. 

During  the  night  of  May  7  and  the  next  day  the 
Vermont  Brigade  was  the  rear  guard  of  the  army.  It 
arrived  on  the  field  of  Spottsylvania  just  before  dark 
on  the  8th,  and  received  the  cheers  of  its  comrades  as 
it  passed  along  the  rear  of  the  line  from  the  right  to 
its  position  towards  the  left. 

On  the  9th  there  was  severe  skirmishing.  It  was  a 
sad  day  for  the  survivors  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  for  then 
and  there  the  gallant  Sedgwick  fell. 

On  the  10th  three  regiments  of  the  Vermont  Brigade 
took  part  in  the  charge  led  by  General  Upton. 

On  the  11th  there  was  skirmishing  and  artillery. 
The  losses  of  the  brigade  to  this  date  were  thirteen 
hundred  and  sixty-three. 

On  the  morning  of  the  12th  Hancock  made  his  cele- 
brated charge,  capturing  the  most  of  Johnson's  division. 
When  the  Sixth  Corps  marched  in  to  his  relief  the 
enemy  was  making  a  desperate  attempt  to  recover  lost 
ground.  The  Vermont  Brigade  soon  found  itself  with 
other  trooi)s  at  that  world-renowned  bloody  angle, 
where  it  fought  for  eight  successive  hours,  in  an  almost 
hand-to-hand  fight. 

There  was  other  severe  fighting  at  Spottsylvania  in 

25 


386         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

which  the  Vermont  Brigade  took  an  active  part,  and 
before  leaving  there  on  May  21  the  loss  of  the  brigade 
was  sixteen  hundred  and  fifty,  considerably  more  than 
half  of  the  command. 

But  it  was  at  Spottsylvania  that  the  brigade  was 
strengthened  and  cheered  by  the  addition  of  the 
Eleventh  Kegiment,  and  quite  a  number  of  conscripts 
and  recruits,  in  all  about  seventeen  hundred  officers 
and  men,  bringing  the  numerical  standard  up  to  about 
what  it  was  when  it  went  into  the  battle  of  the  Wilder- 
ness. The  Eleventh  Vermont  was  a  heavy  artillery 
regiment,  recruited  to  its  maximum,  and  was  in  itself 
equal  to  a  brigade  of  depleted  veterans. 

The  conscripts  and  recruits  were  put  into  gaps  in  the 
veteran  regiments,  while  the  Eleventh  was  divided  into 
three  battalions,  each  battalion  numbering  more  than 
either  of  the  other  regiments.  After  this  let  it  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  brigade  consisted  of  eight  battalions, 
and  was  in  size  and  effective  force  equal  to  many,  and 
probably  to  a  majority,  of  the  divisions  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac. 

From  Spottsylvania  we  marched  to  the  North  Anna, 
and  took  part  in  the  skirmishes  there. 

On  the  27th  we  crossed  the  Pamunkey  and  moved 
up  towards  Hanover  Court-House,  and  then  to  a  posi- 
tion on  the  Tolopotamoy.  On  the  1st  of  June  we 
marched  to  Cold  Harbor,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the 
severe  engagements  there,  lasting  twelve  days.  There 
were  fighting  and  losses  every  day,  and  the  loss  of  the 
brigade  was  over  three  hundred. 

On  the  night  of  June  12  the  brigade  was  left  alone 
to  watch  the  enemy.      It  quietly  withdrew  from  the 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  LEWIS  A.    GRANT.        337 

works  before  light  the  next  morning,  and  again  became 
the  rear  guard  of  the  army  on  its  march  to  Petersburg. 
That  night  we  slept  on  the  other  side  of  the  Chieka- 
hominy.  On  the  14th  we  marched  past  Charles  City 
Court-House,  crossed  the  James  River  on  the  16th,  and 
on  the  afternoon  of  June  17  we  arrived  near  Petersburg, 
and  relieved  General  Brook's  division  of  the  Eighteenth 
Corps, 

On  the  morning  of  June  18,  1864,  the  Old  Vermont 
Brigade  stood  on  the  heights  overlooking  the  valley  and 
surrounding  country.  We  had  started  out  for  Rich- 
mond, but  had  halted  in  front  of  Petersburg.  From 
our  elevated  position  the  lines  of  both  armies  could  be 
traced.  Beyond  the  lines,  the  spires  and  turrets  of 
Petersburg  reflected  in  the  morning  sun.  To  our  right 
were  green  fields  and  fertile  meadows  where  the  Appo- 
mattox wended  its  way  to  the  James.  All  nature  smiled 
on  us  that  lovely  June  morning.  Later  in  the  day  a 
general  attack  was  made,  which  resulted  in  driving  the 
enemy  back  into  his  strongholds  and  defining  his  posi- 
tion. In  this  attack  the  Vermont  Brigade  took  no  part. 
We  were  permitted  to  rest  on  the  hill-side  and  see  others 
do  the  fighting.  It  was  a  novel  scene,  a  new  experience 
to  us.  For  the  six  weeks  preceding  we  had  taken  active 
part  in  every  principal  engagement,  had  marched  into 
the  jaws  of  death,  held  important  positions,  and  made 
repeated  assaults  upon  strong  lines  of  trained  infantry. 
We  had  been  fighting  almost  every  day,  except  while 
marching,  and  much  of  our  marching  had  been  done  in 
the  night-time.  The  losses  of  the  brigade  from  the 
time  it  crossed  the  Rapidan  to  the  time  it  stood  on  the 
heights   of    Petersburg   were   nineteen    hundred    and 


388         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

ninety-one,  in  round  numbers  two  thousand,  more 
than  two-thirds  of  the  original  command ;  and  of  that 
number  of  fearful  losses  those  who  had  been  captured 
by  the  enemy  could  be  counted  on  the  fingers  of  your 
hands. 

Grand  Old  Vermont  Brigade !  Noble  band  of  vet- 
erans !  Heroes  of  the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  and 
Cold  Harbor!  Survivors  of  the  bloody  trail  from  the 
Kapidan  to  Petersburg!  Well  may  you  rest  on  the 
heights  overlooking  the  field  of  your  future  triumph! 

June  19  the  brigade  relieved  two  other  brigades  of 
the  division,  and  held  the  front  line  until  the  evening 
of  the  20th.  There  was  severe  skirmishing  during  the 
day,  and  much  artillery  practice.  Our  right  rested  on 
the  river  below  Petersburg,  and  our  line  was  very  near 
the  city.  Our  position  seemed  to  annoy  the  enemy,  as 
he  opened  upon  us  a  heavy  artillery  fire  from  the 
front,  and  also  from  several  batteries  across  the  Appo- 
mattox to  our  right  and  rear,  inflicting  but  small  loss. 
On  the  evening  of  the  20th  we  moved  to  the  left  and 
relieved  General  Gibbon's  division  of  the  Second 
Corps,  and  held  the  position  during  the  next  day,  the 
front  lines  being  engaged  most  of  the  time. 

On  the  evening  of  the  21st  the  Sixth  Corps  marched 
six  miles  to  the  left,  to  near  what  was  then  known  as 
the  Williams  House.  The  next  day  there  was  a  gen- 
eral advance,  in  which  the  Vermont  Brigade  occupied 
the  extreme  left  and  protected  the  flank,  and  halted 
near  the  Southside  Bailroad  about  eleven  o'clock  that 
night. 

On  the  morning  of  June  23  a  picked  company  of 
sharp-shooters  from  the  Vermont  Brigade  was  sent  to 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  LEWIS  A.   GRANT.        339 

the  front  across  the  railroad,  and  pioneers  from  the 
brigade  commenced  the  destruction  of  the  track.  Two 
hundred  men,  properly  oflScered,  were  called  for  and 
sent  to  report  to  the  corps  officer  of  the  day.  Another 
detail  was  furnished,  and  reported  to  an  officer  of  the 
division  staff,  and  by  him  placed  in  support  of  the 
skirmish  line.  These  details  were  taken  from  the 
Eleventh  Regiment.  The  Fourth  Kegiment,  which 
was  on  picket  duty,  w^as  also  ordered  forward  to 
strengthen  the  skirmish-line  on  the  left  of  these  de- 
tachments. The  enemy  appeared  in  force.  The  sharp- 
shooters and  pioneers  retired  and  joined  the  brigade. 
The  officer  in  command  of  the  skirmish-line  and  sup- 
port received  instructions  from  the  division  or  corps 
commander.  He  occupied  a  position  half  to  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  to  the  front,  in  an  open  field,  on  the 
right  of  which  was  a  dense  forest,  and  on  the  left  a 
skirt  of  woods  wide  enough  to  hide  from  view  the  field 
beyond.  He  checked  the  advance  in  front,  but  the 
enemy  sent  a  force  round  the  skirt  of  w^oods  to  the  left 
and  appeared  full  half  a  mile  in  the  rear.  At  this  time 
the  main  line  of  the  corps  was  partly  on  the  skirt  of 
timber  and  partly  lost  to  view  in  the  timber.  The  Ver- 
mont Brigade  formed  the  angle  or  turning-point  in  the 
line,  where  the  left  receded  and  turned  back  to  protect 
the  flank.  Immediately  in  front  was  a  crest  or  swell 
of  ground  which  commanded  the  open  field  in  front. 
From  this  swell  of  ground  our  outpost,  the  position  of 
the  enemy,  and  the  ground  between  were  plainly  vis- 
ible. Artillery  planted  there  would  completely  com- 
mand the  field;  infantry  stationed  there  could  command 
the  most  of  the  field  and  check  the  enemy's  advance  on 


390         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

the  left.     (By  your  permission  I  will,  in  speaking  of 
the  commander  of  the  brigade,  drop  the  use  of  the  third 
person  and  adopt  the  first.)     Watching  the  movements, 
and  fearing  for  the  safety  of  the  force  in  front,  I  moved 
the  brigade  forward  on  to  this  crest,  and  asked  the 
division  commander  to  advance  the  troops  on  my  right 
so  as  to  preserve  this  commanding  position  as  a  part  of 
the  line.    But  he  declined  to  do  it.     I  then  went  to  the 
commander  of  the  regiment  on  my  left,  and  asked  him 
to  advance  his  right  so  as  to  connect  with  my  left.     He 
did  so,  but  soon  fell  back  again,  and  I  received  positive 
orders  from  the  division  commander  to  withdraw  my 
command  to  its  former  position  and  to  connect  with  the 
troops  on  my  right  and  left.     I  then  went  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  corps  and  induced  him  to  go  with  me 
upon  the  crest.     I  pointed  out  to  him  the  position  of 
our  advanced  forces,  and  called  his  attention  to  the  fact 
that  the  force  coming  in  to  the  left  would  completely 
cut  them  off.     Even  then  the  enemy  was  attacking  our 
skirmish-line  on  the  left,  and  stray  bullets  whistled  past 
us.     I  also  called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  if  our 
line  was  advanced  to  that  crest  we  would  command  the 
situation.     My   efforts  were  unavailing,  and   we  rode 
back  to  our  position  of  safety  behind  the  hill.    The  hill 
or  swell  in  front  entirely  hid  the  scene  from  view,  but 
we  could  distinctly  hear  the  sharp  fighting  on  the  skir- 
mish-line and  the  rebel  cheer  as  they  broke  through. 
Bullets  whistled  over  us,  but  we  were  safe.     The  ad- 
vance of  the  rebel  forces  as  they  turned  to  the  left  and 
bore  down  upon  the  rear  of  our  men  was  plainly  heard, 
and  after  a  while  there  was  another  rebel  cheer  and  all 
was  over.     Night  came  on,  and  the  blackness  of  dark- 


ADDRESS   BY  GENERAL  LEWIS  A.   GRANT.        39I 

ness  settled  down  upon  us.  There  we  remained  crouched 
behind  the  hill,  while  our  comrades  in  front  were  being 
slaughtered  or  led  off  to  Libby  and  Andersonville. 

The  most  of  both  detachments  from  the  Eleventh 
and  some  of  the  Fourth  were  killed,  wounded,  or  cap- 
tured. Part  of  the  Fourth  Regiment  escaped,  bringing 
their  colors  with  them.  No  colors  of  the  Old  Brigade 
were  ever  captured  or  lost ;  and  this  was  the  only  time 
when  any  considerable  number  of  the  brigade  was 
ever  captured. 

This  was  my  saddest  experience  of  the  war.  The 
Old  Vermont  Brigade  never  turned  its  back  to  the  foe 
or  forsook  its  friends.  It  was  hard  to  stand  by  and 
make  no  effort  to  save  when  so  many  were  needlessly 
sacrificed.  Why  it  was  that  this  small  force  was  kept 
to  the  front  did  not  appear  clear  then,  and  it  does  not 
now.  Had  it  been  ordered  in  when  our  sharp-shootei-s 
and  pioneers  came  in,  our  line  was  sufficiently  strong 
to  repel  and  punish  any  attack  made  upon  it.  And  if 
there  was  need  of  a  force  being  kept  out  there,  why  it 
was  not  protected  and  cared  for  I  never  could  under- 
stand. The  corps  commander  told  me  when  we  stood 
on  the  crest  together,  overlooking  and  discussing  the 
situation,  that  the  officer  in  command  had  his  instruc- 
tions and  knew  what  to  do.  He  also  told  me  if  the 
rebel  force  then  threatening  our  left  should  break 
through  and  come  into  the  rear  of  our  men,  they  could 
retire  through  the  forest  to  our  right.  He  afterwards 
told  me  that  he  did  not  understand  the  situation.  The 
longer  I  live  the  more  am  I  convinced  that  some  one, 
either  the  officer  in  command  of  the  outpost,  the  officer 
of  the  day,  or  the  brigade  commander,  should  have 


392         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

assumed  the  responsibility  and  brought  those  men  in, 
or  protected  them  while  there.  We  have  the  highest 
military  authority  to  the  doctrine  that  disobedience  of 
orders  is  sometimes  justifiable.  It  is,  perhaps,  proper 
to  say  that  General  Getty  was  absent,  wounded,  and 
that  General  Sedgwick  was  killed  six  weeks  before. 

July  24  we  moved  back  to  the  Williams  House,  and 
remained  near  there  about  two  weeks.  The  usual  mo- 
notony of  watching  and  skirmishing  was  not  inter- 
rupted except  by  a  hurried  march  to  Reams  Station, 
June  29,  to  assist  General  Wilson  in  his  return  from 
an  extended  raid. 

July  8  we  received  marching  orders,  and  went  to 
City  Point  that  night,  where  transportation  awaited  us. 
Early  was  threatening  Baltimore  and  Washington. 
One  division  of  the  Sixth  Corps  had  gone  some  time 
before  and  been  defeated  on  the  Monocacy, — the  rest 
of  the  corps  was  now  ordered  to  Washington. 

This  was  not  the  first  time  the  Vermont  Brigade 
was  ordered  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  special 
duty.  Once  before,  soon  after  Gettysburg,  we  received 
orders  to  march  to  Warrenton  Junction  and  to  proceed 
by  rail  to  Alexandria  and  report  to  the  commander-in- 
chief.  This  done,  we  were  ordered  to  New  York  during 
the  draft  riot.  This  was  known  as  the  New  York 
Campaign,  where  we  took  our  rations  on  the  half-shell. 

But  now  there  was  work  for  us,  and  the  danger  to 
Washington  was  imminent.  Benedict,  in  his  "  Military 
History  of  Vermont,"  says  that  one  day  when  Early 
was  approaching  the  Capital,  the  President  and  Secre- 
tary of  War  went  down  to  the  Potomac  Landing  looking 
for  expected  troops.     Seeing  a  steamer  near,  the  Presi- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  LEWIS  A.    GRANT.        393 

dent  anxiously  inquired  what  troops  it  brought.  Upon 
being  told  that  it  brought  a  major-general  and  his  staff, 
he  replied,  "  I  did  not  come  to  see  any  major-generals ; 
I  came  here  to  see  the  Vermont  Brigade." 

Our  arrival  was  opportune.  Early  had  appeared 
with  a  large  force,  and  his  skirmishers  were  within 
musket-shot  of  the  main  line  of  defences.  We  marched 
up  Seventh  Street,  and  were  greeted  by  rebel  bullets 
while  taking  our  position  in  the  line.  The  Third 
Brigade  of  our  division  drove  back  the  rebel  skirmish- 
ers.  Early  finding  something  besides  invalids  and  mi- 
litia fell  back,  and  made  his  retreat  up  the  Potomac 
and  back  into  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  Then  followed 
the  remarkable  campaign  of  the  Shenandoah  under 
Sheridan,  and  the  battles  of  Charlestown,  Winchester, 
Fisher's  Hill,  and  Cedar  Creek,  in  all  of  which  the 
Vermont  Brigade  bore  an  honorable  and  prominent 
part. 

I  will  say  a  word  only  of  Cedar  Creek,  and  I  do  this 
because  it  has  been  said  that  the  infantry  were  routed, 
and  that  the  day  was  saved  by  the  cavalry.  I  know 
of  one  division  of  infantry,  to  wit,  the  Second  Division 
of  the  Sixth  Corps,  that  was  not  routed.  It  consisted 
of  three  brigades,  in  the  centre  of  which  was  the  Ver- 
mont Brigade.  That  division  confronted  the  enemy 
soon  after  light  on  the  ridge  near  the  cemetery,  and 
held  him  in  check  for  more  than  two  hours,  and  re- 
tired only  when  completely  flanked,  and  then  it  retired 
in  line,  and  took  another  position,  from  which  it  did  not 
retire.  It  was  while  holding  this  second  position,  with 
the  left  resting  on  the  pike,  that  Sheridan  came  riding 
down.     He  turned  and  rode  down  the  rear  of  a  few 


394         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

regiments,  and  dashing  through  the  line  brought  up  in 
front,  and  inquired,  "  What  troojis  are  these  ?"  "  The 
Sixth  Corps,"  "  The  Vermont  Brigade,"  were  simulta- 
neously shouted  from  the  ranks.  "  We  are  all  right," 
cried  Sheridan,  as  he  rode  to  the  right,  amidst  the 
cheers  of  the  men.  It  is  said  Sheridan  reported  that 
Getty's  division  of  infantry  and  Merritt's  division  of 
cavalry  were  the  only  forces  he  found  fighting.  From 
this  position  the  advance  was  made  which  drove  Early 
from  the  field.  At  the  ford  of  the  creek  the  cavalry 
passed  the  infantry,  and  continued  the  pursuit  until 
after  dark,  and  made  most  of  the  captures  of  the  day. 
I  do  know  that  at  least  one  division  of  infantry  was  not 
routed  at  Cedar  Creek. 

Late  in  the  fall  of  1864  the  Sixth  Corps  returned  to 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  in  front  of  Petersburg. 
Afiairs  had  somewhat  changed  in  our  absence.  The 
left  of  our  line  had  been  considerably  advanced  and 
extended  and  fortified.  The  Vermont  Brigade  was  as- 
signed a  position  in  the  line  well  to  the  left,  near  Patrick 
Station,  which  was  the  terminus  of  the  military  rail- 
road which  brought  our  supplies  from  City  Point.  Our 
right  rested  on  what  was  known  as  the  Squirrel  Level 
Road,  and  our  left  extended  to  the  angle  or  turn  in  the 
line.  At  this  angle  was  an  earthwork  of  considerable 
strength,  known  as  Fort  Fisher.  From  Fort  Fisher 
our  line  receded  and  turned  back  and  protected  our 
flank.  Half  a  mile  or  more  to  the  left  of  Fort  Fisher 
was  Fort  Welch.  From  Fort  Welch  our  line  ran  back 
to  the  rear  about  at  right  angles  with  the  line  held  by 
the  Vermont  Brigade.  The  rebel  line  seemed  to  keep 
nearly  parallel  to  ours,  and  when  it  came  opposite  our 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  LEWIS  A.    GRANT.        395 

turn  or  angle  it  did  not  turn  back  like  ours,  but  it  bent 
forward  and  kept  between  our  line  and  the  railroad. 
The  enemy's  line  was  strongly  fortified.  It  consisted 
of  heavy  and  formidable  breastworks  made  of  logs  and 
earth,  with  a  deep  broad  ditch  in  front,  and  outside  the 
ditch  was  an  abatis,  with  limbs  cut  sharp,  and  so  inter- 
twined and  fastened  down  that  it  was  difficult  to  over- 
come or  remove.  At  intervals  along  the  line  were 
earthworks  well  supplied  with  artillery.  Between  the 
two  lines  there  was  dense  timber,  chiefly  pine,  with  here 
and  there  an  irregular  clearing.  The  timber  disap- 
peared as  the  winter  advanced,  each  army  drawing  from 
it  its  supply  of  wood.  Large  tracts  of  timber  became 
narrow  strips,  and  the  men  who  went  for  wood  when  it 
was  becoming  scarce  had  to  strictly  observe  the  laws  of 
war  as  laid  down  by  the  axemen  and  teamsters.  When 
a  tree  fell  the  wrong  way  it  was  divided  by  military 
rule.  Along  this  narrow  and  dissolving  line  of  timber 
there  were  but  few  rash  acts  of  hostility,  except  such  as 
trading  Washington  for  Richmond  papers,  and  sugar 
for  tobacco.  Occasionally  a  few  "Johnny  Rebs"  would 
come  in  with  our  men  and  go  no  more  out  forever.  As 
spring  approached  the  men  harvested  stumps  as  a  sort 
of  second  crop  or  aftermath. 

On  the  26th  day  of  March,  1865,  Lee  made  a  des- 
perate assault  upon  the  Federal  line  near  Fort  Sedg- 
wick, considerably  to  our  right.  So  sudden  and  vig- 
orous was  the  attack  that  he  broke  the  line  and  pushed 
quite  a  large  force  through.  Troops  were  called  for  to 
drive  back  the  enemy  and  re-establish  the  line.  The 
Vermont  Brigade  was  taken  from  its  position  in  the  line 
and  held  in  readiness  to  go  at  a  moment's  notice.    Late 


396         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

in  the  afternoon  I  received  orders  to  move  to  the  left 
and  pass  out  between  Fort  Fisher  and  Fort  Welch  and 
make  a  demonstration.  We  drove  in  the  rebel  picket- 
line,  and  forced  it  back  much  nearer  the  main  line,  and 
our  pickets  were  advanced  quite  near  the  enemy's. 

During  this  demonstration  I  discovered,  or  thought 
I  discovered,  an  opening  in  the  enemy's  breastworks, 
but  the  frequent  use  of  artillery  and  musketry  made 
the  examination  quite  unsatisfactory.  The  next  morn- 
ing I  went  out  and  examined  the  enemy's  line,  and 
found  that  there  was  an  opening  almost  in  front,  but  a 
little  to  the  right  of  Fort  Welch,  which  consisted  of  a 
ravine  three  or  four  rods  wide.  It  was  evident  that  in 
the  construction  of  the  fortifications  the  enemy  did  not 
deem  it  important  to  construct  across  the  ravine,  as  it 
was  swampy  and  filled  with  trees  so  that  it  was  almost 
impassable  for  an  organized  force.  The  trees  had  been 
cut,  but  the  stumps  were  there,  except  at  the  right  of 
the  ravine,  where  the  stumps  had  been  cut.  A  little  to 
the  right  of  the  ravine  the  abatis  had  been  cut  away 
for  teams  to  pass  out  and  back,  and  that  opening  still 
remained.  It  seemed  to  me  that  there  was  a  weak  point 
in  the  enemy's  line,  and  I  called  General  Getty's  atten- 
tion to  it,  and  went  out  again  with  him  and  examined  it 
further.  The  matter  was  freely  talked  of,  and  several 
officers  from  corps  headquarters  came  down  and  exam- 
ined the  line.  In  a  day  or  two  General  Meade  and 
General  Wright,  with  officers  of  their  staff,  came  to 
General  Getty's  headquarters ;  Getty  sent  for  me,  and 
we  all  went  out  to  examine  the  line.  It  was  decided  to 
make  the  attack  there.  The  Sixth  Corps  was  selected 
to  make  it ;  the  Second  Division  was  selected  to  lead 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  LEWIS  A.    GRANT.        397 

the  corps,  and  the  Vermont  Brigade  was  selected  to  lead 
the  division.  In  the  mean  time  Sheridan  commenced 
his  operations  on  our  left  near  Hatcher's  Run,  and  the 
attack  was  deferred  a  few  days.  It  was  finally  decided 
to  make  it  at  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  April  2.  I 
was  informed  that  the  attack  would  be  made  by  the  corps 
en  echelon,  massed  in  columns  of  regiments,  and  that 
the  Vermont  Brigade  would  form  the  point  or  enter- 
ing wedge  of  the  echelon.  I  was  directed  to  quietly 
move  my  command  out  at  twelve  o'clock  on  the  night 
of  April  1  and  select  my  position,  and  that  the  other 
two  brigades  of  the  division  would  respectively  form  on 
my  right  and  left  and  rear,  and  that  the  other  two  divi- 
sions of  the  corps  would  respectively  form  on  the  right 
and  left  and  rear  of  our  division.  On  the  afternoon  of 
April  1  I  went  out  and  again  examined  the  situation, 
and  selected  my  position  so  as  to  be  able  to  take  it  in 
the  night-time.  Keturning  to  the  brigade,  I  called  to- 
gether the  regimental  and  company  commanders  and 
explained  to  them  what  was  intended  and  what  was 
expected  of  us.  I  also  directed  that  each  company 
should  be  called  out  and  the  men  fully  informed  and 
instructed  what  was  expected  of  them.  This  was  un- 
military,  especially  when  compared  to  the  proceedings 
in  the  early  part  of  the  war  when  the  men  were  not  in- 
formed, and  when  no  officer  inferior  in  rank  to  that 
of  a  brigadier-general  was  intrusted  with  the  mighty 
secrets  and  consummate  plans  of  the  commanding  gen- 
eral. It  was  then  enough  for  the  men  and  inferior 
officers  to  know  that  their  superiors  were  wise,  and  had 
in  view  some  gigantic  plan  which  would  end  the  war 
and  rebellion. 


398         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

If  there  were  ever  an  instance  when  bayonets  did 
think,  it  was  when  in  the  hands  of  the  Old  Vermont 
Brigade.  It  was  composed  of  men  from  nearly  every 
walk  in  life, — farmers  and  mechanics,  manufacturers 
and  the  professional  men  were  there, — nearly  all  had  a 
common  school  education,  and  some  were  students  and 
graduates  of  colleges.  Many  of  them  I  had  known  in 
civil  life.  Some  were  old  schoolmates  and  companions. 
I  knew  they  could  be  trusted,  and  felt  that  success 
would  be  more  certain  if  every  man  knew  what  was 
expected  of  him  and  felt  a  personal  responsibility.  In 
every  desperate  charge  organization  becomes  confused, 
and  much  depends  on  the  individuals.  With  officers 
and  men  fully  informed  I  felt  as  sure  of  going  through 
the  enemy's  lines  the  next  morning  as  I  could  of  any 
future  event. 

Not  only  did  I  know  the  officers  and  men  individ- 
ually, but  I  knew  the  fighting  qualities  of  the  brigade. 
I  had  been  with  it  in  nearly  every  engagement  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  It  first  frightened  the  enemy 
and  broke  his  lines  at  Lee's  Mills,  on  the  Warwick ;  it 
was  at  Williamsburg,  Golding's  Farm,  and  Malvern 
Hill ;  at  Savage  Station  it  turned  back  the  rebel  flank 
attack  and  permitted  the  army  to  pursue  its  change  of 
base ;  it  withstood  the  sudden  attack  at  White  Oak 
Swamp  and  rallied  into  line  under  tremendous  fire;  it 
crossed  the  South  Mountain  at  Burketsville  and  cap- 
tured most  of  the  opposing  forces ;  it  captured  and  held 
a  thrice-fought  field  at  Sharpsburg ;  it  advanced  with 
the  only  advance  on  the  left  at  first  Fredericksburg ;  at 
second  Fredericksburg  it  carried  the  principal  heights, 
captured  a  portion  of  the  artillery,  and  pursued  the  re- 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  LEWIS  A.    GRANT.        399 

treating  foe ;  it  repulsed  Lee's  attack  at  Salem  Heights 
and  captured  much  of  the  attacking  force,  and  held  the 
front  while  the  rest  of  the  corps  recrossed  the  river ;  at 
Gettysburg  it  held  the  extreme  left  of  the  army ;  at 
Funkstown,  while  extended  as  skirmishers  along  a  line 
nearly  three  miles  in  extent,  it  repulsed  attacks  of 
strong  lines  of  infantry ;  it  fought  alone  the  battle  of 
Charlestown ;  at  Winchester  it  assisted  in  sending 
"  Early  whirling  up  the  valley ;"  at  Fisher's  Hill  it 
assaulted  and  carried  an  unusually  strong  position ;  at 
Cedar  Creek  it  helped  turn  defeat  into  victory ;  and 
along  the  march  from  the  Rapidan  to  Petersburg,  and 
at  Petersburg,  it  had  shown  unexam23led  valor  and 
devotion  to  duty. 

Officers  and  men  received  the  information  and  ac- 
cepted the  responsibility  with  evident  satisfaction.  All 
seemed  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  thus  bringing  the 
war  to  a  speedy  end.  All  knew  that  bloody  work  was 
before  us,  and  that  some  would  fall,  yet  there  was  ac- 
tivity and  hilarity  in  the  cam^:).  Knapsacks  and  rations 
were  packed,  cartridges  were  distributed,  muskets  were 
loaded,  and  everything  was  made  ready  for  the  attack. 

In  the  evening  I  rode  over  to  General  Getty's  head- 
quarters to  receive  final  instructions  and  to  discuss  the 
prospects  and  movements  of  the  hour.  While  there 
news  came  of  Sheridan's  success  on  our  left;  and  while 
riding  back  to  the  brigade  the  heavens  were  lighted  uj) 
and  the  air  filled  with  the  noise  of  belching  cannon  all 
along  the  line,  celebrating  the  victory  and  throwing 
missiles  of  death  and  destruction  into  Petersburg.  The 
sight  was  magnificent  and  terrible, — terrible  indeed  to 
the  fated  city. 


400         GLIMPSES  OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

There  was  no  sleep  in  camp.  It  was  a  night  of 
preparation,  of  rejoicing  and  great  expectation.  The 
experiences  of  that  hour  come  only  to  a  few,  and  to 
those  once  only  in  a  lifetime. 

Precisely  at  midnight  the  Old  Vermont  Brigade 
commenced  its  movement.  It  passed  out  of  camp  be- 
tween Fort  Fisher  and  Fort  Welch,  and  quietly  took 
its  selected  position  on  the  right  of  the  ravine  and  close 
up  to  the  picket-line.  The  formation  was  made  in 
close  column  of  battalions.  At  the  head  of  the  column 
I  purposely  placed  my  old  regiment,  the  Fifth  Ver- 
mont. It  was  battle-scarred  and  war-worn,  and  did  not 
present  a  long  line,  but  it  was  composed  of  veterans 
from  many  a  well-fought  field.  Then  came  the  other 
regiments,  each  in  line,  and  all  presenting  a  close 
column  of  eight  battalions,  with  the  largest  in  the  rear. 
Other  brigades  and  divisions  came  and  took  positions 
on  our  right  and  left  and  rear,  and  long  before  day- 
light the  Sixth  Corps  was  ready  and  awaiting  the 
assault. 

The  order  was  for  the  Vermont  Brigade  to  move  at 
a  signal-gun  from  Fort  Fisher.  But  the  firing  which 
commenced  in  the  evening  had  continued  irregularly 
during  the  night,  and  it  was  difficult  to  tell  what  was 
the  signal-gun.  In  the  excitement  some  one  had  sent 
along  the  picket -line  the  order  to  commence  firing,  and 
there  was  some  irregular  and  destructive  picket-firing, 
and  the  enemy  was  as  fully  advertised  of  our  move- 
ments as  it  was  possible  for  him  to  be.  Just  as  the  day 
began  to  dawn  in  the  east  a  gun  from  Fort  Fisher  was 
accepted  as  the  signal,  and  the  Vermont  Brigade  moved 
silently  and  resolutely  forward.     Our  pickets  were  soon 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  LEWIS  A.   GRANT.       401 

passed  and  the  enemy's  approached.  They  fired  one 
volley  and  fled.  The  column  moved  steadily  forward 
and  gained  about  half  the  distance  before  the  enemy 
opened  fire.  Then  the  opening  came,  sudden  and  ter- 
rific, from  both  artillery  and  infantry,  and  from  both 
sides  of  the  ravine.  For  an  instant  the  column  hesi- 
tated, but  only  for  an  instant.  It  was  evident  that  the 
most  destructive  fire  had  been  delivered  and  that  a 
quick  movement  was  the  efiective  response.  Almost  as 
one  man  the  brigade  bounded  forward  upon  the  double- 
quick,  and  raised  the  shout  which  had  so  many  times 
carried  terror  to  the  enemy.  The  entire  corps  took  up 
the  movement  and  the  cheer,  and  the  Sixth  Corps  was 
on  a  charge.  The  left  of  the  column  became  some- 
what entangled  in  the  stumps,  but  the  right  of  the 
advance  regiments  gained  the  opening  in  the  abatis, 
leaped  into  the  ditch,  and  up  the  embankment.  The 
first  to  mount  the  rebel  works  was  Captain  Charles  A. 
Gould,  of  the  Fifth  Vermont.  He  was  met  by  a 
bayonet,  which  entered  his  mouth,  passed  down  under 
the  cheek,  and  out  at  the  neck.  The  next  was  Captain 
Edson  M.  Eaymond,  also  of  the  Fifth  Vermont,  who 
was  knocked  back  into  the  ditch  with  a  broken  arm. 
Then  came  men  with  muskets  in  their  hands,  gleaming 
with  bayonets  that  think.  The  pioneers  selected  for 
the  purpose  soon  widened  the  breach  in  the  abatis,  and 
the  Vermont  Brigade  stormed  over  the  defences,  brush- 
ing from  its  front  every  resistance.  Turning  to  the 
right  and  left,  it  drove  the  enemy  from  the  works,  and 
captured  four  guns  on  the  right  and  two  on  the  left  of 
the  ravine.  Seeing  others  of  the  corps  gaining  the 
works  on  the  right   and   left,  the  Vermont  Brigade 

26 


402         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

moved  forward  on  to  the  crest  of  the  hill  beyond,  and 
halted  to  organize  into  line.  As  soon  as  the  necessary 
formation  could  be  made  the  corps  moved  to  the  left 
about  four  miles  to  Hatcher's  Eun,  driving  and  cap- 
turing as  it  went.  In  this  advance  nearly  all  organiza- 
tion was  lost,  and  many  were  the  feats  and  captures 
made  by  companies  and  squads.  Artillery,  colors,  and 
prisoners  were  captured  all  along  the  advance. 

Near  Hatcher's  Run  the  corps  was  again  re-formed 
and  marched  back  to  our  right  towards  Petersburg. 
Passing  the  point  of  attack  in  the  morning,  the  enemy 
was  met  among  the  hills  of  that  irregular  country. 
Lee  had  succeeded  in  re-forming  the  lines  broken  by 
General  Parke  to  our  right  in  the  morning,  and  was 
striving  by  new  disposition  of  troops  to  further  dispute 
our  advance  upon  Petersburg.  Again  were  our  lines 
formed  and  skirmishers  sent  to  the  front.  Again  the 
brigade  advanced  and  drove  the  enemy  before  it.  There 
seemed  no  effective  resistance  until  the  brigade  ap- 
proached the  Turnbull  House,  where  Lee  had  his  bead- 
quarters.  Here  was  a  battery  supported  by  straggling 
infantry.  The  infantry  were  not  inclined  to  contest 
our  advance,  but  the  artillery  showed  determined  re- 
sistance. The  commander  of  the  battery  stood  by  his 
guns  to  the  last,  and  served  them  with  destructive 
effect.  When  all  was  apparently  lost  he  succeeded  in 
getting  away  with  two  guns.  The  rest  were  captured, 
and  the  most  of  the  men  and  horses  lay  dead  and 
wounded  by  the  side  of  them. 

This  was  the  last  conflict  of  the  day,  but  after  this 
our  line  was  considerably  advanced  and  extended. 
Night  came  on,  and  the  army  halted  for  rations  and 


ADDRESS  BY  GENERAL  LEWIS  A.   GRANT.       403 

rest.     That  night  the  victorious  brigade  rested  its  left 
on  the  Appomattox  above  Petersburg. 

I  seriously  regret  my  inability  to  tell  more  of  the 
incidents  of  that  eventful  day.  Wounded  early  in  the 
morning  on  the  picket-line,  and  weak  from  the  loss  of 
blood,  I  was  absent  without  leave  most  of  the  time,  but 
having  completed  my  toilet  and  my  engagement  with 
the  surgeon,  and  disliking  the  movements  of  an  ambu- 
lance over  corduroy  roads,  I  abandoned  the  hospital, 
and  went  to  the  front,  arriving  there  just  in  season  to 
take  possession  of  Lee's  headquarters  for  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  Vermont  Brigade. 

How  Lee  fled  under  cover  of  night;  how  he  was 
pursued,  overtaken,  and  compelled  to  surrender,  is 
familiar  to  all  and  need  not  be  repeated  here. 

The  war  was  at  an  end.  The  army  was  disbanded. 
The  oft-tried  veteran  volunteers  left  the  fields  of  vic- 
tory and  carnage  for  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  civil  life. 

Twenty  years  and  more  have  passed.  Many  have 
been  mustered  into  the  army  of  heaven,  and  the  sur- 
vivors are  scattered  throughout  the  Union.  I  meet 
them  wherever  I  go.  The  old  organization  seems  to 
exist  in  ties  of  fraternal  regard.  It  is  with  proud 
satisfaction  these  meeting  veterans  can  say,  "I  too 
belonged  to  the  Old  Brigade." 


REMARKS 


OP 


PAST  COMMANDER  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN, 

TRANSFERRING  THE   COMMANDERY  TO  COMMANDER  GEN- 
ERAL WILLIAM  R.  MARSHALL, 

AT  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  HELD  AT  ST.   PAUL, 
JUNE   1,    1887. 


Companions,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen: — The  re- 
volving wheels  of  time  have  again  brought  us  to  the 
point  that  marks  the  second  anniversary  of  our  organi- 
zation. It  commences  its  third  year  under  the  most 
favorable  auspices.  The  commencement  of  its  existence, 
although  not  wholly  inauspicious,  was  attended  with 
weakness  and  uncertainties.  At  this  time  strength, 
vigor,  and  prosperity  are  manifested  in  every  feature. 
Two  years  ago  its  membership  was  twenty ;  to-day  it  is 
one  hundred  and  fifty.  As  it  has  increased  in  numbers 
and  strength  its  usefulness  has  been  more  clearly  and 
fully  manifested.  It  has  been  a  constant  source  of  in- 
struction, pleasure,  and  satisfaction  to  every  one  of  its 
members.  In  and  by  its  meetings  we  live  over  again 
the  exciting  scenes  of  the  past,  and  the  high  purposes 
and  firm  resolves  that  attended  in  those  direful  days  of 

404 


REMARKS   OF  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      405 

disaster  and  gloom  again  take  possession  of  our  hearts 
and  niinds,  and  we  are  at  every  meeting  rebaptized 
with  that  spirit  of  patriotism  and  devotion  to  the 
country  that  characterized  our  people  in  the  early  days 
of  the  war.  We  feel  and  know  that  in  this  organiza- 
tion and  in  its  meetings  we  discharge  a  duty  to  those 
whose  lives  were  sacrificed  for  the  public  welfare  in  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion,  and  in  our  attempts  and  endeavors 
to  preserve  the  memory  of  their  deeds  and  devotion  we 
perform  a  sacred  duty  to  the  coming  generations  of 
men. 

No  generation  and  no  class  of  men  can  perform  a 
higher  service  for  their  country  and  race  than  to  trans- 
mit to  the  succeeding  generations  a  correct  history  of 
their  best  deeds  and  achievements.  It  is  in  this  way 
that  patriotism  is  perpetuated  and  that  national  ex- 
istence is  preserved.  Can  we  contemplate  or  form  any 
just  conception  of  the  condition  of  this  nation  without 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  without  the  Fourth 
of  July  ?  It  is  indeed  true  that  the  principles  enunci- 
ated in  the  Declaration  are  articulated  and  emphasized 
by  the  battles  fought  by. our  forefathers  for  their  estab- 
lishment. They  are  inseparably  connected  with  Bunker 
Hill,  Trenton,  the  sufferings  of  Valley  Forge,  and  the 
surrender  at  Yorktown,  and  without  the  battles  the 
Declaration  loses  half  its  meaning,  and  the  battles 
without  the  declaration  of  principles  would  be  almost 
unmeaning  events  in  the  history  of  the  nation ;  but  the 
two  in  combination  kindle  the  fires  of  patriotism  in 
every  breast,  and  make  the  hearts  of  sixty  millions  of 
people  beat  as  one  on  each  recurring  anniversary. 

So,  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  in  which  it  was  our 


406         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

duty  and  privilege  to  participate,  the  battles,  indepen- 
dent of  the  principles  involved,  would  be  but  records  of 
barbarian  cruelty  and  human  sacrifice,  but  when  con- 
sidered in  connection  with  the  constitutional  principles 
involved,  and  with  the  Proclamation  of  Emancipa- 
tion which  made  every  human  being  within  the  limits 
of  the  territory  of  the  United  States  equal  and  free 
before  the  law,  pride  is  kindled  in  every  heart,  joy 
lights  up  every  countenance,  hope  beams  from  every 
eye,  and  all  feel  that  the  principles  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  which  before  the  war  were  abstract 
truths,  declared  to  be  the  principles  on  which  a  nation 
should  be  founded,  have  become  for  the  first  time  the 
legal  governing  principles  of  the  greatest  nation  on 
earth,  and  that  a  new  era  in  government  has  at  last" 
dawned  upon  mankind.  We  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  Declaration,  which  was  a  governing  principle 
in  the  Revolution,  was  but  the  dawning  of  the  day  of 
freedom,  and  that  not  till  the  Fourth  of  July,  1863,  did 
her  rising  sun  break  in  full  effulgence  over  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  whole  land. 

Nations,  like  individuals,  are,  in  a  large  measure, 
governed  during  the  whole  period  of  their  existence 
by  the  circumstances  and  the  princi^^les  which  surround 
their  birth.  As  it  is  true  of  every  individual  that 
during  all  his  life  his  thoughts,  mind,  and  memory 
almost  daily,  and  sometimes  hourly,  turn  to  the  spot 
where  he  was  born  and  where  his  youth  was  passed, 
and  draws  from  hence  inspiration  and  motives  to  action 
that  direct  his  course  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  all 
the  future  emergencies  of  his  life,  so  it  is  true  of  a 
nation,  that    the   principles   promulgated   when   it   is 


REMARKS   OF  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      407 

brought  into  life,  and  the  principles  which  govern  in 
the  early  generations  of  its  existence,  become  the  law 
of  its  being  and  the  rule  of  its  action   through  all 
future  periods.     Who  can  measure  the  influence  of  the 
principles  announced  and  the  action  of  our  fathers  in 
1776  upon  the  people  of  this  nation  in  1860  ?     From 
the  grave  of  every  one  of  the  heroes  who  fell  in  the 
battles  of  the  Revolution  there  was  extended  an  irre- 
sistible influence  to  the  heart  of  every  citizen  and  every 
patriot  living  in  this  land  at  that  period,  and  this  influ- 
ence gave  direction  to  his  action,  became  the  law  of 
his  life,  and  the  combined  action  of  all  these  citizens 
became   the   rule  of  action  for  the  nation.     And  no 
service  that  we  can  render  to  future  generations  will  be 
of  such  advantage  to  them  and  achieve  so  much  for 
this  nation  as  to  preserve  a  correct  record  of  the  prin- 
ciples involved    and    maintained   in   the   war    of   the 
Rebellion,  of  the   heroic  deeds   and   achievements  of 
the  patriots  and  soldiers  of   this  age.     It  is  a  duty 
which  we  owe  to  the  dead,  although  it  in  no  way  affects 
them  in  their  repose;  it  is  the  highest  duty  that  we  owe 
to  the  present  and  to  the  future.     From  the  grave  of 
every  one  who  fell  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  there 
will  be  extended  an  influence  that  will  kindle  the  fires 
of   patriotism  and  inspire  hope  and  confidence,  amid 
disaster  and  gloom,  in  all  the  future  periods  of  this 
government's  history :  and  it  should  be  made,  as  it  is, 
one  of  the  chief  objects  of  this  organization  to  preserve  a 
correct  record  of  those  events,  of  the  names  of  those  who 
fell  in  the  great  struggle  for  the  preservation  of  this 
Union,  and  for  the  establishment  of  universal  liberty 
as  the  law  of  this  nation's  life,  in  the  war  of  1861. 


408         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

We  consider  it  demonstrated  by  the  experience  of 
a  hundred  years  that  our  form  of  organization  is  the 
best  that  can  be  adopted  to  meet  the  demands  and 
accomplish  the  high  purposes  of  the  order. 

Some  carping  souls,  in  their  zeal  to  abolish  all  social 
distinction,  oppose  more  than  one  class  of  military  so- 
cieties. They  seem  to  be  so  constituted  that  the  mere 
sight  of  elevations  and  summits  produces  feelings  of 
agony  and  despair.  They  seem  to  forget  that  it  re- 
quires both  officers  and  citizens  to  make  a  state ;  and 
officers  and  enlisted  men  to  make  an  army  and  carry 
on  war.  "  Useless  each  without  the  other."  Office  and 
rank  do  not  in  themselves  confer  honor,  and  rarely 
confer  distinction.  Noble  deeds  and  achievements 
alone  confer  honor  and  fame,  and  these  are  never  so 
attractive  as  when  worn  by  modest  worth  without  office 
or  rank. 

The  Loyal  Legion  of  the  United  States  should  co- 
operate with  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Kepublic,  and 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  should  co-operate 
with  the  Loyal  Legion,  to  secure  to  this  nation  and 
mankind  all  the  legitimate  fruits  of  the  sufferings 
and  sacrifices  of  five  years  of  gigantic,  horrible  war. 
The  chief  pride  and  glory  of  the  officers  must  ever  be 
the  achievements  and  heroism  of  enlisted  men,  and  that 
of  the  enlisted  men,  the  bravery  and  skill  of  their 
officers.  Each,  as  citizens  of  a  common  country,  re- 
flecting the  glories  of  the  other,  who,  by  their  united 
services  and  sacrifices,  saved  the  life  of  their  imperilled 
land. 

The  form  of  organization  had  its  origin  with  Wash- 
ington and  his  compatriots  of  the  Revolution.     By  ac- 


REMARKS   OF  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      409 

cepting  the  position  of  the  first  President  of  the  Order 
of  the  Cincinnati,  after  which  our  order  is  formed,  tlie 
Father  of  his  Country  left  the  stamp  of  his  approval 
upon  that  organization,  and  through  that,  upon  this  as 
its  offspring. 

Not  in  any  spirit  of  fault-finding,  but  in  a  spirit  of 
doing  justice  to  the  dead  and  discharging  a  duty  to  the 
living  and  to  future  generations,  it  seems  proper  to 
refer  to  the  great  neglect  of  the  State  of  Minnesota  to 
make  any  proper  record  of  the  achievements  of  her 
sons  and  of  her  own  sacrifices  in  the  war  of  the  Rebel- 
lion. She  has  raised  no  monument  to  the  memory  of 
those  who  fell  in  battle.  She  has  prepared  no  history 
of  their  struggles  and  achievements.  She  has  not 
brought  together  in  any  form  tlie  names  of  those  who 
fell  upon  the  field  in  their  struggle  to  maintain  the  su- 
premacy of  the  Constitution  and  laws.  She  has  made 
it  appear  of  record  that  some  of  her  sons  were  out  of  ser- 
vice, while,  in  fact,  they  were  holding  high  commissions 
and  carrying  on  campaigns  and  fighting  successful  bat- 
tles, in  which  many  thousands  of  troops  were  engaged. 
She  has  made  no  proper  record  of,  and  claimed  no  pre- 
eminence from,  the  fact  that  the  first  offer  of  volunteers 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States  for  the  war  was 
from  her  governor,  and  the  first  volunteer  enrolled  his 
name  at  St.  Paul,  and  the  first  regiment  of  volunteers 
for  three  years  was  organized  by  the  State  and  early 
sent  to  the  East  to  defend  Washington,  and  lost  more 
ofiicers  and  men  killed  and  wounded  in  battle  during 
the  war  than  any  other  regiment  of  volunteers  or  regu- 
lars in  the  service. 

This  is  a  neglect  for  which,  if  continued,  she  ought 


410         GLIMFSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

not  to  be,  and  will  not  be,  forgiven  by  future  genera- 
tions. It  is  a  duty  which  this  organization  owes  to  itself 
and  the  future  to  at  least  prepare  a  roll  of  the  names 
of  those  who  fell  in  battle  or  died  of  wounds  there  re- 
ceived and  have  them  inscribed  upon  some  tablet  in  the 
Capitol  of  the  State,  and  have  such  a  printed  record 
made  of  them  as  may  conveniently  be  placed  upon  the 
table  of  every  household  within  the  borders  of  Minne- 
sota. How,  in  all  the  days  of  the  future,  will  the  heart 
of  every  citizen  of  Minnesota  glow  and  burn  as  he 
looks  upon  the  name  of  Messick,  the  first  in  the  long 
list  of  heroes  from  this  State  to  lay  down  his  life  for 
his  country ;  of  Moore,  falling  while  vainly  attempting 
with  a  thin  line  of  skirmishers  to  perform  in  battle  the 
work  for  which  a  whole  brigade  was  hardly  adequate, 
protecting  the  right  flank  of  the  army ;  of  Wilkin, 
closing  his  eyes  at  the  moment  when  his  well-directed 
attack  had  brought  to  their  gladsome  sight  the  backs 
of  the  gallant,  stubborn,  but  defeated  foe ;  of  Acker, 
falling  in  front  of  his  sturdy  regulars,  amid  the  dark- 
ness and  gloom  that  overhung  the  army  in  the  early 
morning  of  the  second  day  of  the  battle  of  Shiloh ;  of 
Farrell,  who,  coming  out  of  the  wholesale  slaughter  of 
the  glorious  First  Minnesota  on  the  first  day  of  Gettys- 
burg unharmed,  and  on  the  third  day  assigned  with  the 
small  remnant  of  his  command  to  the  comparatively  un- 
exposed duty  of  forming  and  commanding  a  line  of  skir- 
mishers in  the  rear  of  the  centre  of  the  line  of  battle, 
charged  with  the  sole  duty  of  arresting  and  returning 
stragglers  from  the  front,  seeing  the  centre  give  way 
before  the  impetuous  assault  of  the  heavy  columns  of 
the  enemy,  without  orders  from  any  superior,  rallied 


REMARKS   OF  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      411 

his  skirmishers,  and  with  Spartan  devotion  and  more 
than  Spartan  courage  hurled  them  against  vastly  su- 
perior numbers  of  advancing  and  temporarily  victori- 
ous troops  of  the  enemy,  laying  down  in  an  instant  his 
young  and  promising  life  in  his  individual  effort  to  save 
the  field  where  defeat  and  victory  seemed  for  the  mo- 
ment to  hang  evenly  in  the  balances,  treating  his  own 
life  as  worthy  of  no  consideration  when  his  country 
called  for  its  sacrifice ;  of  Cook  and  Welsh,  and  hun- 
dreds of  others  who  rise  up  with  their  manly  forms 
and  pass  in  review  before  us  on  occasions  like  the  pres- 
ent. Their  .names  should  every  one  become  household 
words  in  Minnesota,  and  never  be  forgotten.  They 
sacrificed  their  lives  in  the  cause  of  constitutional  gov- 
ernment and  human  freedom,  and  every  one  of  them, 
without  regard  to  the  place  that  he  occupied  in  the 
service,  should  have  his  name  inscribed  in  gold  in  the 
highest  places  of  the  State. 

Meeting,  as  we  do,  monthly  for  nine  months  in  the 
year,  it  is  our  privilege  and  duty  to  discuss  all  the  great 
questions  which  involve  the  growth  and  prosperity  of 
the  country  and  the  permanent  welfare  of  our  people, 
to  consider  intelligently  and  in  an  unimpassioned  way 
those  questions  which  must  of  necessity  affect  the  per- 
petuity of  our  institutions  and  the  happiness  of  all 
classes  of  men.  More  than  any  others  do  we  know  and 
appreciate  the  cost  of  constitutional  government.  More 
than  others  we  ought  to  consider  those  questions  which 
we  know  tend  to  the  building  up  or  to  the  disintegra- 
tion and  decay  of  states.  None  of  us  can  ever  be  blind 
to  those  policies  which  tend  to  discourage  and  dishearten 
that  great  class  of  our  citizens  who  are  the  independent 


412         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  l^ATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

laborers  and  producers  of  the  land.  Every  blow  at  this 
class  is  a  blow  at  the  nation's  life.  Everything  that 
tends  to  discourage  or  dishearten  those  belonging  to  it, 
and  induce  those  now  in  it  to  leave  for  other  pursuits 
and  other  classes,  tends  to  weaken  our  institutions  and 
to  abbreviate  the  days  of  the  nation's  existence.  It  is 
a  class  which  knows  no  master  and  no  superior  but  the 
Creator,  and  although  receiving  the  least  protection  and 
advantage  from  organized  government,  has  in  all  time 
and  in  all  nations  been  the  class  most  patriotic  and  most 
devoted  to  the  public  interests,  and  upon  which  all 
states  have  been  able  to  rely  in  periods  of  emergency 
for  their  support,  protection,  and  maintenance.  The 
continuance  of  this  class  in  all  the  freshness  and  vigor 
of  the  early  days  of  the  republic  is  more  important  to 
this  nation  than  the  maintenance  of  armies  and  navies 
or  any  other  power  connected  with  the  administration 
of  its  affairs. 

While  it  is  not  an  alarming,  it  certainly  is  not  an 
encouraging  feature  that  at  a  time  when  the  capital  and 
w^ealth  of  the  nation  has  extended  the  domain  and  oper- 
ation of  independent  labor  over  vast  areas  of  new  ter- 
ritory in  a  single  decade,  to  find  that  it  has  failed,  even 
under  such  conditions,  to  maintain  its  relative  strength 
numerically  to  the  wage-earning  and  other  classes  of 
our  peoj^le.  What  can  be  expected  of  it  when  the  agri- 
cultural lands  of  the  nation  are  absorbed,  and  when 
its  capital  and  wealth,  which  for  the  last  twenty  years 
has  been  largely  devoted  to  opening  those  unoccupied 
regions  to  this  class  of  labor  for  its  advantage,  shall 
be  compelled  to  seek  other  channels  and  be  devoted  to 
other  ends  ?     This  is  a  question  that  must  receive  the 


REMARKS   OF  GENERAL  JOHN  B.  SANBORN.      413 

attention  of  all  publicists  and  statesmen,  and  be  so 
solved,  if  possible,  that  the  prosperity  of  those  pro- 
ducers will  be  made  so  great  that  those  so  engaged, 
instead  of  seeking  to  exchange  their  lot  for  others,  will 
be  satisfied  to  remain  therein.  While  this  class  con- 
tinues in  freshness  and  vigor  our  republican  institu- 
tions are  safe ;  when  it  declines  and  falls,  all  is  insecure. 

"  Princes  and  lords  may  flourish  or  may  fade : 
A  breath  can  make  them,  as  a  breath  hath  made ; 
But  a  bold  peasantry,  their  country's  pride. 
When  once  destroyed,  can  never  be  supplied." 

The  preservation  of  the  middle  class  in  the  Roman 
republic  would  have  saved  that  people  from  walking 
under  the  yoke  of  imperialism  for  three  hundred  years 
under  the  oppressive  institutions  established  by  Csesar ; 
the  horrors  of  the  Decline  and  Fall,  the  four  hundred 
years  of  the  impenetrable  night  of  the  Dark  Ages 
which  followed. 

We  should  never  be  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  all 
this  misery,  desolation,  and  ruin  extending  through  a 
thousand  years  would  have  been  avoided  by  the  success 
of  the  efforts  of  Tiberius  Gracchus  to  restore  to  the 
republic  this  middle  class  in  the  strength  and  vigor  of 
its  early  days.     By  his  failure  all  was  lost. 

Now  I  bespeak  for  this  Commandery  a  career  of 
great  prosperity  and  great  usefulness.  It  should  in- 
clude in  its  membership  all  the  worthy  surviving 
officers  of  the  late  war  of  the  Kebellion  in  this  State. 
Its  membership  should  labor  with  an  upright,  earnest 
purpose  to  transmit  to  future  generations  that  pure 
spirit  of  patriotism  and  independent  devotion  to  the 


414         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

public  welfare  so  essential  to  the  future  prosperity  of 
the  country.  It  should  become  a  channel  through 
which  that  pure  patriotism  which  burst  forth  in  such 
volume  in  1861  may  flow  on  and  down  to  distant  gen- 
erations. 

With  these  expressions  pertaining  to  our  organiza- 
tion, its  purposes,  its  advantages,  and  its  duties,  and 
with  an  expression  of  the  highest  regard  for  every 
member  of  the  order,  and  an  earnest  wish  for  the  con- 
tinued life  and  prosperity  of  every  one  of  its  members, 
I  step,  with  satisfaction  and  a  feeling  of  the  utmost 
gratification  that  I  have  had  the  honor  of  being  your 
first  Commander,  from  the  position  of  present  to  that  of 
past  Commander. 

Your  present  Commander  needs  no  introduction. 


AOOEPTAISrOE 


OP 


COMMANDER  GENERAL  WM.  R.  MARSHALL. 


Companions,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen  : —  I  am  duly 
gratified  for  the  honor  conferred  by  the  ofiice  just  com- 
mitted to  my  hands.  In  accepting  it  I  think  it  my 
first  duty  to  thank  our  retiring  Commander  and  the 
officers  associated  with  him  during  the  two  years  of  the 
existence  of  the  Commandery  for  their  able  and  suc- 
cessful administration  of  its  affairs.  I  congratulate  him 
and  them  on  the  remarkable  success  it  has  attained.  I 
am  sure  it  will  not  be  invidious,  but  will  command 
unanimous  approval,  if  I  name  our  worthy  Recorder, 
Major  White,  as  the  one  on  whom  the  chief  labor  has 
fallen,  and  to  whose  judicious  and  efficient  services  we 
are  most  indebted  for  the  prosperity  we  enjoy. 

My  predecessor  has  spoken  fittingly  of  the  objects 
and  uses  of  the  order  of  the  Loyal  Legion.  I  may  add 
that  it  is  pre-eminently  a  social  order, — a  social  club, 
if  you  please, — where  men  of  common  experiences  and 
congenial  tastes  may  enjoy  at  stated  times  agreeable 
intercourse  and  fellowship,  and  where,  mingled  with 
flow  of  friendly  sentiment,  there  may  be  something  of 
intellectual  pleasure  and  instruction,  by  way  of  personal 
memoirs  from  participants  in  the  great  actions  of  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  periods  of  the  world's  history. 

We  have  our  different  army  societies.      The   great 

415 


416         GLIMPSES   OF  THE  NATION'S  STRUGGLE. 

national  ones  of  the  Armies  of  the  Potomac,  of  the 
Tennessee,  and  the  Cumberland,  they  have  their  uses. 
The  annual  reunions  of  these  are  to  their  members  oc- 
casions of  rare  enjoyment.  We  have  our  State  regi- 
mental and  other  local  military  associations,  with  their 
reunions,  which  are  sources  of  great  pleasure  to  the 
veterans  who  compose  them.  We  have  the  larger,  all- 
embracing  organization  of  veterans,  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Kepublic,  as  its  name  implies,  the  grandest  of 
all.  It  has  its  subsidiary  societies,  Sons  and  Daughters 
of  Veterans,  Woman's  Kelief  Corps,  etc. 

No  one  of  these  organizations  is  inimical  to  the 
others.  Each  and  all  contribute  in  different  ways  to 
the  enjoyment  of  the  old  soldiers  ;  each  in  its  way 
heljDS  to  keep  aglow  the  fraternal  flame,  kindled  in  the 
furnace  heat  of  the  great  war  for  the  life  of  the  nation. 

We  are  growing  older,  older  by  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury than  we  were  in  the  heat  of  the  conflict.  Our 
ranks  are  growing  thinner  year  by  year.  Shall  we  not 
draw  closer  together  and  meet  oftener  ?  Shall  we  not 
multiply,  if  possible,  the  means  and  the  occasions  of 
brotherly  greetings  ?  This  order  of  the  Loyal  Legion 
is  one  of  the  means  to  this  end.  It  owes  no  one  any 
apology  for  its  existence. 

I  will  not  detain  you  with  these  thoughts.  There  are 
distinguished  gentlemen  who  will  contribute  to  your  en- 
tertainment to-night:  I  must  not  delay  you  that  pleasure. 

Responses  to  toasts  were  made  by  Junior  Vice-Com- 
mander Major  John  P.  Pea,  Colonel  Gilbert  A.  Pierce, 
Hon.  Alexander  Ramsey,  Right  Rev.  Bishop  John 
Ireland,  and  General  E.  C.  Mason,  U.S.A. 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGiONAL  LiBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


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